After receiving a free pass through the District 53 and Section 1 tournaments, Benicia’s Big League all-star baseball team made its postseason debut by taking the long road at the 2015 Northern California Tournament in San Leandro.

Benicia opened its postseason with a tough 8-7 loss to Milpitas last Wednesday but battled back Friday for a 5-4 victory over Visalia to remain alive in the loser’s bracket.

“We were not at our finest offensively or defensively,” Benicia manager Jon Wood said of his team’s debut. “Errors hurt us and we hit several batters. If we had eliminated any one of those things, I think we would be 2-0 instead of being in the loser’s bracket. But we hurt ourselves.”

Benicia (1-1) trailed Milpitas by three midway through the tournament opener until Tom Dalby unloaded with a bases-loaded triple in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. Two insurance runs later in the inning gave Benicia the commanding three-run lead.

All seemed well with two outs and no one aboard in the Milpitas fifth, but a single to left-center opened a crack and Benicia’s wheels suddenly fell off. A botched grounder for an error, two hit batters and a walk put Milpitas right back in the game, and the Division 59/Section 5 champions tied it 6-6 thanks to another botched grounder with the bases loaded.

Milpitas carried that momentum into the bottom of the sixth, using a walk and two singles to grab a 7-6 lead. Benicia had one last comeback in the top of the seventh. A single by Dalby, an infield single by Sam Shrimpton and a walk to Nate Edwins loaded the bases with two outs, and a Milpitas error allowed pinch-runner Landen Williams to trot home with the tying run.

But Benicia never did regain the lead and promptly walked the first two Milpitas batters in the bottom of the seventh. Another hit batter loaded the bases with one out, and a sacrifice fly sent Benicia to the loser’s bracket.

Friday’s elimination game against Visalia was just as competitive. Benicia got off to a fast start with three runs in the first inning. Tanner Marchant started the rally with a single and ended up scoring when Justin Badger reached safely on an error. Pete Dalby and Drew Saitz each added RBI singles.

Visalia roared right back with a run in the first inning and three more in the second to take a 4-3 lead through three. Benicia took the lead for good in the fourth. Spencer Vercelli led off with a single and Nate Edwins reached safely on an error to set up Marchant, who doubled them both home for a 5-4 Benicia lead.

That was good enough for Benicia starting pitcher Chris Core, who threw 81 pitches in 5 1/3 innings to get the win. Niko Leon Guererro threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and earned the save.

Benicia’s Big Leaguers need to win four more in a row to bring home the Northern California championship for a second straight year.

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