BENICIA’S 9/10 all-stars had their impressive postseason run come to an end Monday after a 5-1 loss to host St. Helena in the District 53 championship game. Benicia’s all-stars are Xander Estrada, Patrick Fernandez, Jacob French, Gage Gibbons, Vaughn Goshert, Kelly Harms, Logan Lee, Ryan Malte, Angel Martinez, Jake Matteson, T.J. Peters, Nathan Salas, manager Jay Matterson and coaches Jeff Lee and Josh Gibbons.

Benicia Little League’s 9/10 all-stars had their impressive postseason run come to an end Monday night after a 5-1 loss to host St. Helena in the District 53 championship game.

St. Helena – which handed Benicia (6-2) both of its losses in the tournament – broke open a close game with a four-run third inning. Pitchers Brent Isdahl and Miles Harvey handcuffed Benicia’s offense, combining on a four-hitter as St. Helena (4-1) advanced to the Section 1 Tournament, which it will host beginning Wednesday.

“We really played hard but St. Helena came through with a lot of base hits and had great pitching,” said Benicia manager Jay Matteson. “They had a really good pitcher. We just couldn’t hit.”

Isdahl allowed only one run on two hits before being lifted with two outs in the fifth inning due to a 75-pitch count. Harvey scattered two hits over the final 1 1/3 innings and pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh.

Benicia jumped on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the second inning. Ryan Malte led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch and ended up scoring on a two-out double by Jacob French.

That 1-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the third when Benicia had its only real breakdown. St. Helena’s Charlie Knight led off with a double and teammates Ben Melancon and Isdahl provided back-to-back singles to make it 2-1. A Benicia error kept the rally going and Will Meyer took advantage with a two-run single to make it 4-1.

“We had one bad inning where we made some errors,” Matteson said. “That kind of broke things open. I was hoping (St. Helena) would have a bad inning at some point, but they never did. We obviously had a hard time.”

St. Helena started the bottom of the fourth with two outs and no one on before a hit batter and back-to-back singles by Isdahl and Harvey produced an insurance run.

Benicia didn’t go down quietly. Xander Estrada opened the top of the sixth with a single, went to second on a wild pitch and eventually stole third. Malte was hit by a pitch with two outs and Kelly Harms walked to load the bases, but St. Helena’s second baseman made a nice running catch of a bloop fly ball to end Benicia’s tournament title hopes.

“We showed a lot of heart and a lot of class,” Matteson said. “They kept their heads held up high and played with dignity and respect.”

French, Estrada, Angel Martinez and Jake Matteson had the only hits for Benicia. Melancon went 2-for-2 with two runs and a RBI for St. Helena. Isdahl and Meyer each added two hits.

The six victories for Benicia’s youngest all-star team were one less than the 10/11, 11/12, Senior and Big League all-star teams combined. Benicia’s only remaining all-star team is the 13/14 Juniors, which swept to an easy two-game sweep of American Canyon in their two-team District 53 tournament. Benicia’s Juniors open Section 1 play on Sunday.

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