Red Sox shut down D-Backs

COSTA MESA — “Hits! Hits! Hits!,” the Costa Mesa National Little League Majors Diamondbacks chanted between innings Wednesday at TeWinkle Intermediate School.

The Diamondbacks knew what they needed to get back into the Costa Mesa National Little League Majors championship game. Problem was, Red Sox pitcher Levi Stillman wouldn’t oblige.

Stillman threw a two-hit shutout as the top-seeded Red Sox won, 3-0, to capture the title. Both teams advance to the District 62 Tournament of Champions, which begins June 14.

Stillman said he has four pitches, including a fastball, fast and slow curveballs and a change-up. On Wednesday, he showed great control of the slow curveball, as Diamondback bats consistently swung too early. Stillman struck out 10 batters in the six innings for the Red Sox (15-1).

Manager Rob Stillman said it might have been the best Levi has pitched in three years, since he was on the Costa Mesa National Little League Minor A Dodgers, who captured the District 62 TOC title in 2005.

“He’s not really a six-inning guy,” Rob Stillman said. “He’s more like a three or four-inning guy, but [other starting pitcher] Dante [Capoccia] was burned for today. [Levi] had to finish it off.”

Levi Stillman also had a perfect game going until the fifth, when the Diamondbacks’ Matt Jarmacz lined a double to left-center. But, he said, that wasn’t on his mind.

“I was just trying to pay attention to the game,” Levi Stillman said. “I have a lot of friends on that team, so it was pretty fun.”

Stillman got things going for the Red Sox in the top of the first, with a one-out single to left. Capoccia, who led the league in home runs with five this season, followed with an RBI triple to left.

Capoccia was then singled home by cleanup hitter Jeff Dottl, who also played a good third base defensively, to give the Sox an early 2-0 lead. Kelly Brown, the only girl on the Red Sox, also had a good defensive play to snag Jarmacz’s hard-hit ball to right field in the bottom of the first.

The Red Sox added to their lead in the third when Ryan Bonker doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error.

The Diamondbacks, who had lost their first playoff game before winning three straight elimination games, tried to rally in the bottom of the fifth. Jarmacz hit a lead-off double, and Alex Chairez was hit by a pitch, but Stillman then struck out the next three batters.

Diamondbacks shortstop Dylan Reyes lined a two-out double to center in the bottom of the sixth, but his team couldn’t rally further.

“I was proud of the way my kids didn’t quit,” Diamondbacks Manager Frank Jarmacz said. “They could have quit early. We were down 2-0 after the first inning, but they hung in there the whole time. We started to get runners on in the fifth and sixth, but just couldn’t get the big hit that we needed.”

Jarmacz, Chairez and Noah Jeyarajah each pitched two innings for the Diamondbacks.

RED SOX

Jackson Letterman

Levi Stillman

Dante Capoccia

Jeff Dottl

Adam Ward

Jake Brown

Ricardo Juarez

Joe Munroe

Kelly Brown

Ryan Bonker

Brandon Jensen

Jeremy Beltz

Coaches Jim Morris, Brian Capoccia

Manager Rob Stillman

DIAMONDBACKS

Dylan Reyes

Johnathan Ball

Matt Jarmacz

Alex Chairez

Cody Nelson

Noah Jeyarajah

Royce Friedman

Connor Pearce

Franky Millan

Bradley Chandler

Coaches Ray Reyes, Rob Friedman

Manager Frank Jarmacz

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.