For the first time in the history of the Gridley Little League, the 9 to 10-year-olds advanced to the section tournament when they won the district 47 championship. And they haven’t stopped there.

The team won two of their first three games in the section 2 tournament that began on Saturday in Susanville, and could play through Thursday if they can continue to win. With one loss already, the boys can’t afford another in the double-elimination tournament.

Each of the three games has been up for grabs down to the final inning. Gridley won their first game 11-7 over Corning, but the teams were tied in the sixth inning.

The boys rallied to take a four-run lead in the inning and get the win. Ernesto Caudillo had two home runs in the game, as well as handling some of the pitching duties. Ty Cota started the game, while his brother Sammy finished it. Austin Knipe also pitched against Corning.
Gridley battled Susanville in the second game, and neither team could get their offense going early on.

The game was scoreless heading into the third inning, when Susanville scored seven runs to take a commanding lead. Gridley had the answer in the fourth as they scored five runs of their own. They scored five more in the fifth to tie the game at 10-10.

In the bottom of the sixth, the bases were loaded with Colby Pantaleoni on third, Brian Wilkerson on second and Joshua Campbell on first. Sammy Cota came up to bat, and smacked the ball all the way to the fence to drive in the winning run.

Ty Cota, Kody Rothe, Pantaleoni and Tyler Woolery pitched in the game.

Gridley played from behind for most of the third game against Eel River, which would be their first loss of the section tournament.

Austin Knipe hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to give Gridley the lead late in the game, but Eel River answered in the bottom of the inning to get the 8-7 win. Kaleb Vargas-Gill hit a ball almost to the fence in the game. Knipe and Woolery pitched for Gridley.

Matthew Lang, Alex Santana and Austin Wood round out the roster for a Gridley team that continues to extend their season and will play Marysville for a chance at a rematch with Eel River.
Gridley will need to win three straight games to win the section, as Eel River has yet to be defeated in the tournament.