In a dramatic contest that both teams deserved to win, Kuhl’s edged top-seeded Tarantino’s 5-4 in the Little League’s Minor Division playoffs. Tarantino southpaw Chris Valencia worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning. Then, Valencia looked like he was going to give his team the lead when he drilled a shot towards right field in the bottom of the inning with a runner on base. However, Kuhl’s short-center-fielder Olivia “Nails” Torres robbed him of an extra base base with a nifty defensive play that ended the inning. Kuhl’s took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning when Nick Rodriguez blasted a solo home run. Kuhl’s added two more runs on walks to Adam Deczynski, Torres, Julian Perez, Nicco Chiaralavotti and Josh Davis. But Tarantino came back with two runs in the bottom of the third when Dylan Kieb singled and Mike Pelegrino and Liam Hester had RBI walks. Rodriguez’ single set up another RBI walk for Chiaralavotti in the fourth inning, making Kuhl’s lead 4-2.Tarantino tied the contest in the bottom of the fifth on a rally sparked by Jack O’Donnell’s single and RBI walks by Pelegrino and Hester. In the decisive sixth inning, Brad Deczynski started things with a lead-off single. Then Adam Deczynski, Torres, and Chiaralavotti worked walks to push across a run that gave Kuhl’s the lead. Tarantino, which finished the regular season in first place, would not go down without a fight. With two outs, Kieb and O’Donnell reached base via walks and moved into scoring position with steals. Brad Deczynski then struck out one of the league’s best hitters to end the game. Rodriguez and Perez pitched well over the first four innings for Kuhl’s. Valencia, O’Donnell, and Pelegrino starred on the mound for Tarantino’s.