With three runs already in and Davis American still trailing by two with the bases loaded in the final inning, the locals had Fairfield Atlantic on the ropes.

But this time, in the opening round of the Little League 9-10 NorCal Section 1 tournament in Concord on Saturday, the locals had to settle for a strong all-around performance in a 13-11 loss.

DALL has a chance to turn it around on Sunday, when it plays an elimination game back in Concord at 11 a.m.

Saturday’s contest was truly an exciting, back-and-forth affair …

Despite a 15-day layoff since winning the District 64 championship on June 29, the Americans got off to a strong start when a booming double by Ethan Ramos went over the Atlantic left fielder’s head to bring home Josh Catacutan and Payne Barksdale. Catacutan had reached on a walk — the first of three he would earn in the game — and Barksdale was on after a single.

The local advantage was short-lived, however, as Fairfield plated three in the bottom of the first inning and scored two runs in the second to go ahead 5-2.

“FALL made plays at crucial times in the game and hit the ball well to,” said DALL coach Jessie Catacutan. “We probably shaved off some rust in the first couple of innings defensively, but (Fairfield) was a pretty good team.”

Always resilient, Davis — who had survived five lead changes to beat Dixon in an eight-inning thriller for the D64 title — bounced back in the third. First, Catacutan came home on a Ramos sacrifice fly, then Adam Dapkewicz followed suit to bring in Barksdale. Clutch two-outing hitting by Cade Sanders finished the rally as his single brought in Mikey Finerty to tie the game at 5-5.

Barksdale singled and scored in the fourth inning to give the Americans another lead, but this time Atlantic rebounded quickly and scored three in the bottom of the frame.

Trailing 8-6 after four, the locals battled back to tie things up one final time. The two tallies came when Catacutan took a break from walking to double home Sanders (who had gotten a free pass) and Garrett Emmons (single).

But immediately, in what would turn out to be the matchup’s decisive half inning, Fairfield broke it open in the top of the fifth. When it was all said and done, the District 53 champs saw five runners cross the plate.

They were now down 13-8 but, staying true to their nature, the Americans would not go quietly in their final at-bat. Finerty opened the sixth inning with a double and the late rally continued with singles from Iain Smith, Jack Walsh and walks earned by Dapkewicz, Lucas Griffiths, Emmons and Josh Catacutan. The barrage pushed three across the plate and the tying run to second base before Davis ran out of gas.

“Down five runs going into the final inning, we feel very proud of that in terms of the effort and not giving up until that final out,” said the coach. “We’ve (come back) before against Vacaville and Dixon (in the D64 tournament) but this time we didn’t get enough.”

A bright spot for the locals, who will now have to play each day as they go through the so-called loser’s bracket, was that none of their hurlers racked up too many pitches. Even with the strict Little League tournament rules, Dapkewicz (1 2/3 innings Saturday), Barksdale (2/3), Emmons (two) and Catacutan (2/3) all have throws left for upcoming matchups.

At the plate, Barksdale finished with two singles and scored all three times he reached base, while Catacutan was on the sacks four times, scored two runs and added two RBIs.

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