Three out of five isn't bad, especially when each of those three topped a field of six or more teams.</p><p>That's what the Los Banos Tigers youth softball program did over the weekend at the Madness in Merced tournament, with the 10-and-under, 12-and-under and 18-and-under teams all taking home championships.</p><p>"Charlie [Pikas] has got five teams, and they all represent the town pretty well," said Dave Cardoza, coach of the 12-and-under team.</p><p>Pikas is the head of the organization and coach of the 18-and-under team, which defeated the host Westside Bullets 4-2 in its championship game.</p><p>"We've been having team efforts every game," Pikas said. "They really seem to play well together."</p><p>After breezing through a three-game pool play schedule, the Tigers found the playoff bracket a little tougher.</p><p>"We had that happen a couple of weeks ago in Modesto, we went 3-0 in pool play, and lost in the first round of the playoffs," Pikas said. "They had it in the back of their minds that Sunday was a whole new day."</p><p>In Los Banos' 6-3 win July 10, Liberty made the game interesting by pulling to within three runs in the final inning.</p><p>The semifinal game was a rematch against Liberty, and again Liberty threatened late. With Kelsie Monroe in the circle, the Tigers extinguished Liberty's last gasp with the bases loaded.</p><p>The championship game against the host Westside Bullets went to extra innings using international tiebreaker rules, which puts a runner on second base to start the inning.</p><p>After Patrice Jones reached on an error, runner Jae Bondi was thrown out at the plate on a Monroe single. Facing two outs, Taylor Snowden and Taylor Clancy both singled, driving in three runs.</p><p>Liberty managed just one in the bottom as the second-seeded Tigers took the championship.</p><p>"These are some good experiences where we're getting out of tight spots," Pikas said. "We're getting challenged."</p><p>The 12-and-under team also went undefeated during the tournament, though against a field twice as deep. After a close 4-3 win over Central Cal Fastpitch, the Tigers swept aside the Atwater Blaze and the Modesto Crusaders.</p><p>The bracket set up a rematch in the first round against Central Cal, which fourth-seeded Los Banos won 4-1.</p><p>"It's the third or fourth time we've played them," Cardoza said about Central Cal. "And we feel they're one of the better teams around."</p><p>The semifinal game against the top-seeded Clovis Rockettes came down to the last pitch. Down 3-2 with two outs and one runner on, and the 70-minute time limit fast approaching, Kailyn Neves go hold of a 2-2 offering and sent it down the line. A run came in to tie the game, and Cardoza sent Neves even though the third-baseman fielded the throw as she rounded the base. A hurried throw gave Neves the run and the team the win. The 7-4 win over No. 2 Merced Xtreme was almost an afterthought.</p><p>"My girls never really die, they keeping fighting," Cardoza said. "Nothing really seems to rattle them."</p><p>The 10-year-olds also went 3-0 in pool play, and found themselves in an international tiebreaker situation in the semifinal game against the fourth-seeded Atwater Blaze. The Blaze went up 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning after Erica Rodriguez shut them down with 11 strikeouts.</p><p>The Tigers answered with RBI doubles by Bianca Rodriguez and Erica Rodriguez (no relation).</p><p>"All the girls really played hard," said coach Joe Rodriguez, Erica's father. "We left a lot of girls stranded, but everybody was hitting the ball well."</p><p>The third-seeded Tri-County Smash fell to the Tigers' bats in the championship, 7-0.</p><p>"This was our fourth tourney, we didn't do too well in the first three," Rodriguez said. "I could tell in our first practice for this tournament that it was different. Their confidence is through the roof right now.</p><p>"I have nine girls who never played travel ball before," Rodriguez continued. "Only four of them played travel ball last year, and it felt really good to see them do good in this tournament."</p><p>The 14-year-olds and the 16-year-olds may not have won championships, but they weren't exactly slouches at the tournament either. Both teams qualified for their respective gold brackets, the top brackets, out of pool play.</p><p>The 16-year-olds went 2-0-1, earning the third seed, before falling to the eventual champion Central Cal Stars 7-5.</p><p>The 14-year-olds were one of four undefeated teams through pool play and were given the fourth seed on runs scored and allowed. They fell to the fifth-seeded Merced Stingers 9-8.</p><p>Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 826-3831 ext. 565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com