Pirates, Yankees Advance to TOC Championships

The bats of the Dixon Little League AAA-Minors-Division Pirates and the Majors Division Yankees continue to swing in the Tournament of Champions and bring victories to both teams.

The Pirates and Yankees are each just one win away from winning the Tournament of Champions in their respective divisions.

On Tuesday, the Pirates took on the Esparto Rangers and beat them 16-11.

“It was a good game,” Pirates Coach Mike Del Magnaio said. “We started off with Jonah Dage pitching. He did a real nice job.”

Dage pitched the majority of the game, Del Magnaio said, with Nick Alvarado and Cooper Trujillo pitching subsequently. 

“I thought the pitchers did a good job for us,” Del magnaio said. “We started out a little slow, but by the time we got through the order one time, we put five runs on the board. Our defense wasn’t as sound as I hoped, but a win is a win.”

Coach Del Magnaio said Nick Alvarado had a “really good hitting game, he had three hits.” Elias Benton and Cooper Trujillo each had two hits apiece, and Justice Benton and Andrew Schntzius, both had key hits that would begin a rally for the Pirates.

The Pirates square off against the winner of the Winters-Esparto game on Saturday, 10 a.m., in Esparto. Should the Pirates lose on Saturday, they would play once again on Monday for the championship.

The Majors-Division Yankees were also victorious against Esparto in a game they played Monday. The Yankees will square off against either Winters or Esparto on Friday at 7 p.m., for the championship. If the Yankees do not win their next game, they play again on Sunday for one final shot at the championship.

Editor's note: If you have a photo of these two games, please upload it.