Benicia Little League’s 9/10 all-star team put on quite a show in St. Helena on Wednesday in their District 53 Tournament debut.

All nine Benicia starters scored en route to a resounding 16-1 victory over Suisun One’s all-star team. Benicia won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the fourth inning due to the 15-run mercy rule.

“It went really, really good,” said gleeful Benicia manager Jay Matteson after the convincing win. “I just let them hit. It was pretty awesome.”

The bottom of Benicia’s lineup was unstoppable. Patrick Fernandez, Ryan Malte, Vaughn Goshert and Logan Lee (the 6-7-8-9 batters in the order) combined to go 9-for-9 with 10 runs. Angel Martinez went 2-for-3 with two runs and teammate Jake Matteson also went 2-for-3. T.J. Peters had a double and Jacob French added a single in Benicia’s 16-hit attack.

Benicia’s pitching was just as dominant. Peters started and allowed only two hits and one run in three innings while striking out six. French struck out the side in the fourth inning and didn’t allow a hit.

“We got great pitching,” Matteson noted. “They were overpowering them with fastballs. We didn’t have to throw any curveballs and hardly threw any change-ups. We just stuck with the fastball and blew them away.”

Benicia (1-0) batted around in a four-run second inning and never looked back. Peters, Fernandez and Matteson each had a double as Benicia pounded out seven hits during the eruption.

Benicia batted around again an inning later as Peters and Fernandez each doubled in a six-hit, seven-run outburst. Five hits and five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning wrapped up the game early.

Benicia’s 9/10s advance to a winner’s bracket game Saturday morning in St. Helena against Fairfield Atlantic, which squeaked past Napa National, 7-6.

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