In a way, the Turlock All-Stars Little League Seniors knew they were going to arrive at this point.

And the feeling is pretty sweet.

The Turlock All-Stars traveled to Atwater — a place where they have experienced losses — on Monday night and defeated the Atwater All-Stars 7-1 to capture the District 10 title, giving them the shot to contend for the Section 6 championship.

The Turlock players will continue their run at Morada Park in Stockton on Saturday morning with the opponent to be announced.

On Monday, they won with consistent scoring. But Turlock’s four-run fourth inning made the difference, and the All-Stars celebrated the victory with a team photo with the championship trophy.

Zach Cantrell had a stellar outing on the mound, as he finished with 77 pitches and six strikeouts in 4 1/2 innings. Teammate Jose Mendoza came in to relieve, successfully finishing off the Atwater All-Stars, who had their only score in their final plate appearance.

The Turlock All-Stars also produced on the mound. Josh McCormick scored two runs and pulled off a standup double, something teammate Saul Trujillo also had. Kevin Barkman finished with a standup double and one run scored.

“It’s a thrill to beat Atwater at Atwater,” Turlock coach Ben Cantrell said. “We had some tough competition there at that ball park. I knew the boys had to be up and ready and they were up and ready. They were confident and they knew Atwater would be a tough team and they wouldn’t roll over and give up.”
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail at csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.