Rocklin Rangers eke past BRLL Giants, 12-11;

Force Dist. 11 series to third and final game

The District 11 Little League Tournament of Champions championship series between the Bear River Giants and the Rocklin Rangers has turned into a survival of the fittest.

 In a wild Game Two Friday night in Lincoln in the District 11 major division title series, the Rangers rallied for four runs in their last at-bat to pull out a shocking 12-11 win and square the best of three set at 1-1.

The dramatic win by the Rangers sets up a winner take all championship game tonight at 7 p.m. between the two teams at BRLL Park.

For the Giants, it was the team’s first postseason setback after reeling off four straight wins.

Friday’s game was a see-saw affair as the Rocklin team struck swift and hard for a quick 6-0 advantage over the Giants.

But as they’ve done all tournament long, the Giants gamely battled back.

In the top of the third, Josh Toft’s three-run HR blast and a RBI single by Kyle Soria enabled the Bear River crew to get back to within striking distance at 6-4.

The Rangers picked up a couple of more tallies in the fourth to increase their lead to 8-5 but the Giants weren’t done just yet.

Buoyed by a RBI single from Tyler Toft and a big bases loaded double by David Keaton, the Giants erupted for six runs in the top of the fifth to take an 11-8 margin over their Rocklin foes.

However, in the bottom of the sixth, the Rangers mounted their big comeback to pull out the win and square the title series at 1-1.