Benicia had a pair of all-star teams get eliminated on the road in their respective tournaments Thursday.

Benicia’s Big Leaguers were knocked out of the Northern California Tournament in Stockton after a frustrating 4-1 loss to San Jose/Milpitas/Gilroy – a team Benicia beat in the tournament opener four days earlier. Benicia’s 10/11 all-stars were eliminated from of their District 53 Tournament in Fairfield after a tough 9-8 loss to Sonoma, finishing one win short of reaching the championship round.

Benicia’s Big League all-stars committed six errors against San Jose/Milpitas/Gilroy and allowed four unearned runs. Benicia (1-2) loaded the bases with one out in the first inning but failed to score, then stranded two more runners in the second inning without scoring.

“We beat ourselves,” said Benicia Big League manager Keith Lederer. “We made too many errors and didn’t push our runners across when we had the chance.”

San Jose/Milpitas/Gilroy scored two unearned runs in the first inning and added two more unearned runs in the third to go up 4-0. Benicia finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth when Pete Dalby singled home Landon Williams, but it was too little, too late as San Jose/Miliptas/Gilroy advanced to the title round Saturday night against unbeaten District 57.

“It’s always tough when you felt like you had the better team out there,” Lederer said. “We just didn’t play up to our potential.”

Benicia’s 10/11 all-stars had an early 6-1 lead but couldn’t hold on against Sonoma, which advanced to the District 53 title round Saturday against unbeaten Napa National. T.J. Peters stroked a two-run homer to get Benicia started. Kevwe Ojo doubled in two runs in the second inning while Peters and Patrick Fernandez each added RBI singles.

But Sonoma answered with seven runs in the bottom of the second and eventually built a 9-6 lead. Benicia (3-2) scored twice in the top of the sixth and had the bases loaded with two outs, but a strikeout left Benicia a run short.

“It just didn’t go our way,” said Benicia 10/11 manager Josh Gibbons. “Our team never gave up and battled back every time. We walked off with a good attitude.”

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