REDDING – The Yreka and South Siskiyou nine and ten year old Little League All-Stars met in the second round of the District-1 playoffs on Monday, with Yreka emerging victorious, 7-4.

Yreka opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Tadd Weed singled. Weed moved to second base on a hit by Tyler Hedin, and went to third when Eamon Velarde reached on an error. Weed scored on a wild pitch, giving Yreka the lead 1-0.

South Siskiyou came right back with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Nathan Pappas took a walk to lead off. Pappas then made the trip home via three wild pitches. With two down, Kaimana Ferguson walked. Ferguson advanced to second when Colten Bertolucci was hit by a pitch. Ferguson scored when Courtlen Cates reached on an error, putting South Siskiyou on top 2-1.

Yreka regained the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning. Robert Giannini led off with a walk. A double by Michael Riehm plated Giannini. Riehm went to third base on a passed ball. After Connor Lawe walked, another passed ball allowed Riehm to go home and Lawe to move to second base. Lawe scored on a hit by Jeremy Persing, making the score Yreka 4 – South Siskiyou 2.

South Siskiyou answered with a run in the third inning. Westin Namanny led off with a single and went to second base on a wild pitch. Back-to-back hit batters loaded the bases, and Namanny scored on a combination of a passed ball and an error. A walk to Aiden Bravo filled the bags again, and Yreka looked for some relief. Persing strode to the mound and fanned the next three South Siskiyou batters, leaving Yreka in the lead 4-3.

Ethan Peters led off the bottom of the fourth inning for Yreka with a single. Peters moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored when Persing reached on an error. Persing would also score, making it a 6-3 lead for Yreka.

Lawe gave Yreka some insurance in the bottom of the fifth inning, when he doubled, stole third base, and came home on an error, making it 7-3.

South Siskiyou didn’t fold, however, and made it interesting in the top of the sixth. With one down, Cates walked. A single by Kaden Riccomini moved Cates to third base. A walk to Brooks Pavlik loaded the bases. Yreka made a pitching change, bringing in Walker Turner. Kole Riccomini reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Cates and erasing Kaden Riccomini at second base. But, that was all that South Siskiyou could push across, and Yreka held on for the 7-4 win.

Yreka continues on in the winner’s bracket and will play a team to be determined on Thursday at 6:00 pm at Alta Mesa Field in Redding. South Siskiyou will have to work its way through the loser’s bracket and will play again on Tuesday at 8:00 pm at the Alta Mesa Field.