But Matt Ellis wasn't about to let the winless streak continue. Instead, the Gatos hurler tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, while leading his team to back-to-back 6-5 and 6-3 wins over Santa Clara to capture the title.

Los Gatos' trip through the tournament was not an easy journey either. Though the team received a first-round bye, it faced a tough opponent in Blossom Valley in the second round. Led by Ellis' efforts on the mound and at the plate, Los Gatos came away with the 6-1 victory. Ellis went 3 for 3 with two home runs and surrendered just one unearned run and struck out six in his six innings of work on the mound. Bricklin Foley's two-run home run and Ryan Black's scoreless inning of work provided a nice complement to Ellis' efforts.

Los Gatos then lost 3-1 to Santa Clara in the third round, despite Raymond Salazar and Foley combining to pitch a 1-hitter. Santa Clara scored three runs on a single, three walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball to sneak away with the victory.

Nevertheless, Los Gatos earned a rematch by defeating San Jose Pacific 7-4 in the loser's bracket final. SJ Pacific scored two runs in each of the first two innings, but Los Gatos battled back to take a 5-4 lead on three runs in the fifth. A combination of SJ Pacific errors, a walk to Eric McDonald and singles by Foley, David Martini and Noah Henry gave Los Gatos all it would need, as Steven Krach needed no more run support. After coming in the second inning, Krach proceeded to strike out seven batters and allowed no hits over the final five innings.

The victory placed Los Gatos in the final, where the locals needed to get two victories in the same day over the host Santa Clara team. Their task became even more difficult when Santa Clara scored twice in the top of the first. But Los Gatos fought back in the bottom of the frame. Will Kapp reached on an error and consecutive singles by Foley, Martini and Ellis gave Gatos a 3-2 lead after one inning of play.

Santa Clara responded with two more runs in the top of the second. Los Gatos once again took a 5-4 lead on a walk to Foley, a couple Santa Clara errors and a sacrifice fly by Ellis in the third. Los Gatos scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth, when Foley walked, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Ellis.

The hot-hitting Ellis also pitched the final four innings, allowing one unearned run in the seventh on four hits and six strikeouts to force another championship game.

And Ellis picked up right where he left off on the mound, allowing no hits and no runs in the first three innings of the second game. The offense didn't need to play catch-up this time because Los Gatos scored five runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, Tim Sweeney was hit by a pitch and Foley drew a walk to start the rally. With two outs, Ellis walked, Henry reached on an error and McDonald and Salazar laced consecutive singles to highlight the five-run outburst.

Santa Clara scored three runs in the fourth to narrow the margin to 5-3. Los Gatos then added its final run in the fifth when Martini was hit by a pitch, Henry singled and McDonald hit an RBI single to drive home Martini. Salazar recorded the save by pitching the final four innings, allowing no runs on four hits and striking out four batters.

With the final win, Los Gatos captured the sectional title and advanced to the Northern California regional tournament held in Los Altos. The 14-year-olds played their first regional game on Thursday July 24, where they came away with a 10-9 win over San Carlos. Henry and Salazar led Los Gatos with two hits apiece, and Salazar also walked away as the winning pitcher.

Members of this year's Los Gatos 14-year-old Pony all-star team are Mitch Benedetti, Black, Evan Bolton, Riley Curran, Ellis, Foley, Henry, Kapp, Krach, Martini, Michael McCarthy, McDonald, Colby Moore, Salazar, Tim Sweeney, and Kevin Wyllie. Corey Kneeshaw is the manager along with coaches Brian Market, Brendan Boitano, Patrick McDonald, and Steve Sweeney.