The Dalles 13-year-olds win district title

TD defeated Pendleton 21-6 Friday and 22-12 Saturday at Kramer Field in the District 5 tournament.

The Dalles didn’t get off to a strong start as Pendleton led 6-0 after the first inning of Game 1. But TD answered with three runs in the second and three more in the third to tie the game. The Dalles took the lead in the fourth with another three runs and tacked on 12 in the fifth to put away Pendleton early.

On the mound, Caden Mathisen struggled with his control early but settled down and pitched all five innings to earn the win.

“He threw strikes and the defense shut them down,” TD manager Luis Jimenez said.

“There was a lot of groundballs and popups.”

TD had just 10 hits but drew 14 walks.

“They started struggling with their pitching after about the third inning,” Jimenez said. “They couldn’t find the strike zone.”

Game 2 was about the same as TD recorded 15 hits and 10 walks.

Dominic Smith had two doubles and two singles while Dalles Seufalemua had three singles to lead the offense, which had little to hit.

“It was hard for players to get anything going because they weren’t throwing many strikes,” Jimenez said.

Ben Nelson started and pitched the first five innings for The Dalles. Juanluis Jimenez got the final three outs to seal the victory and clinch the series.

The District 5 champions will play Pendleton again Friday at 9 a.m. in the state tournament. TD will then play West Linn at 6 p.m. and East Portland Metro Saturday at noon in the final game of the round robin.

The top two teams will play in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m.

The state champ will advance to the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament July 22 in Meridian, Idaho.

Jimenez likes his team’s chances.

“I feel good about the guys as long as they keep their heads in the game,” he said. “They’re a very talented team. We’re pretty solid all the way around. We’re deep in our pitching, which is what it comes down to a lot in these kind of tournaments. I think we’re going to do alright.”