PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Konnor Dugan was dominant. Cam Hillard was clutch.

 

And the Pittsfield American Little League All-Stars are the District 1 Champions of the 9- to 11-year-old age bracket.

 

Dugan struck out 12 in 5-⅔ innings of work to lead the Americans to a 1-0 win over the Pittsfield National League at Clapp Park.

 

The victory means Pittsfield will host its first game in the sectional tournament at Deming Park on Saturday, July 13.

 

On Sunday, it was all about pitching as the teams combined for seven hits.

 

One, by the first batter of the game, Christian Barry, led to the only run.

 

Otherwise, the Nats’ Quentin Christopher (4 innings) and Chase Cook were lights out on the mound.

 

They just couldn’t match Dugan.

 

“We were hoping that Konnor could go as far as he could, and we were lucky getting those first two outs in the sixth inning,” Pittsfield AL manager Joe Skutnik said.

 

“He just pounded the strike zone -- once he figured it out. He had a tough first inning. That was a little iffy, but he got himself out of it. Kudos to him. You know, it’s not easy for an 11-year-old playing their first championship game.”

 

A leadoff error and a pair of walks in the bottom of the first gave the NL its best scoring chance against Dugan. But AL catcher Barry and third baseman John Mullen erased a runner trying to score from third on a passed ball, and Duggan got his first two strikeouts to end the inning.

 

He allowed just two more baserunners the rest of his afternoon.

 

Christopher hit a two-out single in the third, and Ryland Luckadoo walked and reached second on a wild pitch in the fourth.

 

Otherwise, Dugan cruised to the sixth, which he started with 81 pitches, staring down an 85-pitch limit.

 

He got the first batter he faced on three strikes, allowing him to face one more hitter, who he caught swinging at a third strike before having to leave the game.

 

Hillard came off the bench to finish up, but Cook worked a two-out walk and moved up on singles by Luckadoo and Caio Lahey to load the bases with nobody out.

 

Hillard did not crack under the pressure, going to a full count before getting a called third strike to end the game.

 

The game started when Barry dropped a 2-1 pitch into left field for a single.

 

He went to third when Caden Boehm dropped down a sacrifice bunt and an error allowed Boehm to reach first.

 

“We need to get even better at our bunting,” Skutnik said. “That’s the key to Little League: seeing if you can get the bunts down and put some pressure on the opposing defense.”

 

After Christopher retired the next hitter on an infield fly, Robby Bazinet ripped a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Barry and gave the AL all the offense anyone could muster.

 

The Americans had their best chance to earn an insurance run in the top of the fifth. Andrew Hammill led off with a double. Sam Gyurjan entered as a pinch runner, Connor Mack dropped down a sac bunt to get him to third.

 

But when Gyurjan attempted to score on a pitch that got to the backstop, NL catcher Seth Aitken retrieved the ball and got it to Cook, who applied the tag.

 

“The Nationals played well,” Skutnik said. “They made all the plays, too. That play at home for the second insurance run, that play was big. Seth [Aitken] did a great job going to get that, and they covered the plate. I mean, that was huge.”

 

Pittsfield NL Manager Jermaine Sistrunk agreed that his team came up huge in battling its way to the last out of the tournament, and he expects his players to be back in 2020.

 

“This was my first year ever coaching All-Stars, and we had a great group of kids,” Sistrunk said. “Everybody on the team was 11, so that was good for us. Like I told these guys: They’ll probably be the 12-year-olds next year.

 

“Coming through house league and watching these guys grow and get better … My son is Chase Cook, and watching him grow as a father and a coach was awesome. J.J. Walker, that kid, you just can’t get him out. … Quintin Christopher pitched the first four innings. You can’t ask for much more out of these kids.

 

“I can’t express how proud I am of these kids, the maturation they showed in some tough situations. Granted, at the end, some emotions came out, but they held it together all summer.”

 

More photos from this game here.