Sports
Little League Majors TOC: Red Sox Miscues Lead to 5-4 Defeat in Championship Game
Dixon can't overcome sloppy play, giving Winters District 64 TOC Title.
The Dixon Red Sox fell just one game short of the District 64 Majors Tournament of Champions title, falling to the Winters Cardinals in the championship game 5-4 Tuesday evening in Winters.
“A couple of errors at the end hurt as little, but we didn’t give up and we came back,” coach Bobby Bible said. “Nobody expected us to be here. We’re happy with what we did.”
Manager Andy Butler was at a work meeting in Lake Tahoe, and did not return in time to manage Tuesday’s game, but arrived at the end of the game to talk to his team. Butler told them he was very proud of the way they rebounded from a 1-3 start to the regular season to finish it with a four-game win streak and the Dixon Majors title. Overall, the Red Sox won six of their last eight games.
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Matt Butler pitched a complete game for the Red Sox after being the center of a controversial play at the plate Sunday. Despite being ejected by home plate umpire Jim Ogando in Sunday’s 11-2 loss, Butler was approved to play in Tuesday’s game by district administrator Mike Pappa.
“Matt pitched a hell of game and did a good job,” Bible said.
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Butler finished with eight strikeouts and scattered five hits through five innings, but didn’t receive the same support from his defense as he did in his other two starts. Dixon committed four errors and suffered communication issues in the Cardinals three-run third inning.
"Throwing the ball around a little bit, it kills you,” Bible said. “The infielders were just looking at each other going ‘who’s supposed to get that ball?’ You got to want the ball.”
Down 4-2 in the fifth inning, the Red Sox started to battle back.
Butler and Michael Raycraft started off the inning with back-to-back four-pitch walks, and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Winters’ pitcher Anthony Simone. Joe Jimenez then hit a looper into right field for a base hit, driving in Butler and Raycraft to tie things up at 4-4.
The Cardinals would take back the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Butler would walk Ulises Hinoisa to start the frame, but would get the next two batters to fly out. Simone would ground a single down the left field line to bring in Hinoisa to put Winters up for good 5-4.
The Majors division starts All-Stars Tuesday July 7 at Vacaville’s William Keating Park.