Behind pitchers Adrian Leon and Brody Legions, the Padres shutout the Angels, 3-0, on Tuesday to advance to the Pajaro Valley Little League Majors championship.
Leon and Legions combined to toss a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
Reece Hamalainen was an offensive sparkplug for the Padres, who will play the winner of the Angels and Braves on Monday at Ruso Field in Watsonville. He hit a pair of doubles, homered and scored another run off a Leon RBI double.
Zac Sandoval and Trey Silva singled for the Angels, who return to action in an elimination game against the Braves on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Braves staved off elimination on Wednesday with a 9-2 win over the Giants.
Nathaniel Arreola’s two-run single in the first inning scored Mason Borrego and Zander Miller-Brown, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.
They never looked back.
The Braves added on six more runs in the third with RBI singles from Mikey Gonzales and Miller-Brown.
Isaak Vargas homered and Brant Sirles tripled and scored for the Giants, who were eliminated just a few nights after their 16-3 win over the Cubs.
Max Castro hit a three-run homer to power a five-run burst in the first inning for the Giants.
They only piled on more runs from there.
Joseph Rose and Juan Perez both doubled, while Vargas smacked a pair of extra-base hits.
For the Cubs, Frankie Van Wickler tripled and doubled, and Damian Suchil doubled.
•••
AAA MINORS
• Mariners 14, Red Sox 3 – The Mariners’ offensive explosion on Tuesday night punched their ticket to next week’s PVLL AAA Minors championship game back at Ruso Field.
The Mariners broke the game open in the third inning by earning eight walks. They used those free bases to produce five runs, and added another five-spot in the fourth inning.
Dakota Legions and Stanley Alatorre helped start the rally in the fourth.
The Mariners closed the door on the Sox via the mercy rule thanks to Jose Silva’s two-run single in the fifth.
Jacob Jimenez tripled, while Jacobi Martinez, Santi Vides and Ceci Hyde all recorded an RBI for the Sox, which will play the Cardinals on Saturday at noon for a chance to advance to the championship game on June 5.
The Cardinals had to hold off the Pirates, 11-5, on Wednesday in the elimination bracket to earn a spot in Saturday’s semifinal.
Behind Zachary Gong’s two-run double, the Cardinals scored five runs in the first inning.
They added another three runs in the third, and cruised the rest of the way.
The Pirates had miraculously beaten the Yankees, 5-3, just days before with a five-run, fourth-inning rally.
R.J. Allen got things rolling for the Pirates with a lead-off double, and his teammates did the rest.
