District 52 Little League All-Stars 12s tournament

Trailing 4-1 in its final at-bat, Menlo-Atherton rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to eliminate Hillsborough in stunning fashion. Trailing 4-3 with Luca Fagnini at the plate, Menlo-Atherton tied it with Elliot Lee scoring on a passed ball. Then Fagnini reached on an infield error to bring home Jack Brubacher with the winning run for a dramatic walk-off victory.

Menlo-Atherton was down to its final out with nobody on when Jack Stoffel sparked a two-out rally with an infield single. Ian Smith followed with a walk, and Lee reached on an infield error to score Stoffel, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Brubacher then smacked an RBI double to center, drawing Menlo-Atherton to within a run.

Stoffel paced Menlo-Atherton with two hits. Smith connected for a solo home run in the fourth, tying the game at 1-1.

Hillsborough responded with a three-run bomb in the fifth. Matty Markson led off the frame with a single and Luke Damelio reached on an infield error. That set the stage for Jeremy Pak, who connected for a three-run home run to left to put Hillsborough up 4-1.

Ryan O’Connor led Hillsborough with two hits.

Hillsborough starting pitcher Will Glaser worked five innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks while striking out three. Reliever Kenny Stroud took the tough-luck loss, allowing four unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Brubacher earned the win in relief for Menlo-Atherton, working one-third of an inning in the top of the sixth. Starting pitcher Nathan Siegel took a no-decision, working 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out four.

With the win, Menlo-Atherton advances through the elimination bracket to face Alpine, Sunday, at 5 p.m.

San Mateo American 2, Alpine 1

San Mateo American rallied for two runs in its final at-bat to advance into the championship round with a win over Alpine at Middlefield Ballpark.

Carter Weyer crushed a game-tying RBI double to center, and Cody Gordon raced home on an infield error to give San Mateo American a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Right-hander Connor Workman closed it out with a 1-2-3 sixth, working two innings to earn the win in relief of starting pitcher Matthew Ward.

Alpine starting pitcher Lucas Maffia worked 4 1/3 gutsy innings before maxing out his pitch count. After Alpine jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Maffia walked the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the inning. The sturdy right-hander bounced back with three straight strikeouts to keep American off the board.

With the win, American advances to the championship round, starting Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. American must be defeated twice to be denied the District 52 title, while needing win just one more to hang the banner.

Alpine takes the field Sunday in the semifinals of the elimination bracket against Menlo-Atherton at 5 p.m.

FRIDAY

Menlo-Atherton 11, Half Moon Bay 5

Menlo-Atherton erupted for seven runs through the first two innings to take down Half Moon Bay in an elimination game at Middlefield Ballpark. Ian Smith punctuated the two-inning barrage with a three-run home run to center field in the second.

Cole Swartzberg added a two-run blast in the fourth to make it 9-1. Menlo-Atherton totaled 12 hits in the game, with Smith going 2 for 3 with four RBIs, Swartzberg going 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Nathan Siegel and Henry Liu adding two hits apiece.

Smith earned the win on the mound, working 2 2/3 innings while surrendering one run. Half Moon Bay scratched out the run against Smith in the third when Cypress Stefanick doubled home Jackson Revet. Menlo-Atherton reliever Luca Fagnini closed out the third inning with two-thirds of an inning of work. Reliever Jack Stoffel gave up four runs in the fifth — highlighted by a three-run double from Greyson Riesen — but persevered to close it out, working 2 2/3 innings.

Revet and Thomas Benson paced Half Moon Bay with two hits apiece.

With the win, Menlo-Atherton advances through the elimination bracket to play Saturday against Hillsborough.

Half Moon Bay posted a 2-2 record in the tournament. Their roster includes Stefanick, Revet, Riesen, Benson, Aiden Keates, Brayden Davis, Dominic Seaton, Jax Brown, Kayden Castaneda, Luke Gordon, Mackey Connell, Oliver Kern, Tristan Chaney and Wyatt Gunning.

Hillsborough 7, Redwood City 1

Hillsborough starting pitcher Matty Markson worked five innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits, to lead his team past Redwood City in an elimination game at Middlefield Ballpark. Markson struck out seven with nothing wild before Will Glaser fired a perfect inning of relief in the sixth to close it out.

With the game tied 1-1 in the fourth, Hillsborough rallied for four runs to take the lead. Jeremy Pak opened the inning with a double to center and, with one out, Kenny Stroud walked and Ryan O’Connor singled to load the bases. Sean Kott followed with an RBI single to give Hillsborough a 2-1 lead. Stroud then scored on an error off the bat of ZJ Leung, Markson walked with the bases loaded to score O’Connor, and Nate Cheung singled home Kott to make it 5-1.

Hillsborough added two more runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Stroud.

Hillsborough thumped out 10 hits, with Pak, O’Connor and Kott totaling two hits apiece. Redwood City totaled five hits, with singles from Tanner Jarolimek, Lucas Fairbairn, Mason Tabrizi, Javan Clark and Bryant Needman.

With the win, Hillsborough advances to play Menlo-Atherton in an elimination game Saturday.

Redwood City posted a 2-2 record in the tournament. Their roster includes Jarolimek, Fairbairn, Tabrizi, Clark, Needman, Jacob Erskine, Dominic Sigala, Wyatt Tetley, Jack Torres, Nico Cardenas, Ethan Pimentel and Matthew Garrino.