Photos

The Palo Alto National 11-12 Little League all-star baseball team is two wins away from

defending its District 52 championship.

On Sunday, Palo Alto National reached the championship round after playing perfect baseball.

Nick Wells twirled a perfect game and his teammates banged out nine hits and played sparkling defense in blanking San Carlos, 11-0, in a mercy-rule win in the consolation bracket

championship game at Marina Field in Belmont.

Palo Alto National will battle unbeaten Hillsborough on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the

championship game and needs to beat Hillsborough twice to defend its crown. If necessary, a

challenge championship game will be Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Hillsborough handed Palo Alto its lone loss of the tournament, a 9-3 decision 10 days ago.

Dating to last season, Palo Alto National has won 13 straight elimination games. Palo Alto won last year's tourney by rattling off eight wins in a row while facing elimination.

Wells was scheduled to throw just 45 pitches in the game, but needed just 38 in setting down 12 San Carlos hitters en route to his perfect game over four innings.

Hard-hitting San Carlos beat Belmont two weeks ago by belting eight homers, seven in one inning.

Palo Alto jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings with the help of a two-run single from

Austin Poore and a two-run homer from Alec Wong. Palo Alto polished off San Carlos with seven runs in the fourth inning, the big blast was a grand slam by Peter Verheecke, which ended the game.

On Saturday, Palo Alto National survived another elimination game after disposing of rival Palo Alto American, 9-2.

After two scoreless innings with neither team garnering a hit, Palo Alto National exploded for five runs in the top of the third inning. The big blow was a three-run homer by Owen Lewis. in Poore and Jack Witte added an RBI single and RBI walk, respectively, in the inning for Palo Alto National.

After Palo Alto American's Issac Feldstein produced a run-scoring single in the third inning to cut the lead to 5-1, Palo Alto National put the game on ice with three runs, all courtesy of a three-run homer off the bat of David Oyer. Gilbert Simonetti blasted a solo homer for Palo Alto American in the sixth inning. Witte earned the win by yielding no runs and no hits in two innings worked.

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.