So the story goes that in Little League baseball, hitting can become contagious.

If that's the case, then the Gainesville District Little League 10- and 11-year-old American all-stars came down with quite the ailment last Saturday in Fairfax. The boys strung together three doubles in the second inning on their way to a 8-2 win over the American all-star counterparts from Fairfax Little League in the opening round of the Virginia District 10 tournament.

"We tell the kids, 'Take the ball to the alleys,'" said Gainesville manager Niko Agnos.

First baseman Ian Vilevac started off the team's big rally with an RBI double to right field that drove in starting second baseman Danny Singleton to tie the game at 1-1. Right fielder Jake Ritter followed up with another shot to rightfield to bring home Vilevac, who beat the throw to the plate. Noticing the stalling play at home, Ritter took off and slid in safely to second base under a tag, putting him in scoring position.

Ritter said that when one batter on the team earns a hit, it sparks confidence throughout the line up.

"Basically, we're all really good friends," he said. "The next guy's like, 'Hey, I can hit it too!'"

Two batters after Ritter, Jacob Schetselaar smacked a first-pitch liner to centerfield. Ritter rounded third and charged home, slamming into the Fairfax catcher who held on to the ball, but after Ritter's slide to put Gainesville up 3-1. Just as Ritter did at the end of his hit, Schetselaar took advantage of the throw him and slid into second base. He thought about extending his hit for a triple as the throw bounced into shallow center field but turned around and dove back head-first to second base just in time to beat the tag.

That turned out to be a wise decision as he ran to third on a wild pitch to teammate Matt Kraynak, standing in the right-handed batter's box. Though Kraynak eventually grounded out on a fielder's choice dribbler to the Fairfax second baseman, he clapped his black batters' gloves together with a smile on his face for driving in Gainesville's fourth run of the inning.

Starting pitcher-turned-centerfielder Jake Agnos, shortstop Matt Sharer and Singleton continued the hit parade in the bottom of the third inning with three consecutive singles that put Gainesville up 5-1. A grounder by Ritter that went under the second baseman's glove driving in Sharer, giving Gainesville its last run until the bottom of fifth when Ritter and Schetselaar scored the team in gray's seventh and eighth runs of the afternoon.

Gainesville pitchers Agnos, Singleton and Sharer limited Fairfax's own scoring to the book ends of the ball game, giving up runs in the first and sixth innings. In between innings, the defense put up a nearly flawless performance, particularly the middle of the infield.

"They've been working every practice, just nose behind the ball and 'get your glove dirty,'" said the younger Agnos.

One such standout play occurred in the top of the fourth inning when Jack Jansen, who started in centerfield and later moved to second base, pulled out a web gem worthy of instant high-fives from his teammates.

A sharp grounder up the middle to the right of second base scooted past the pitcher's mound and seemed destined for the centerfield grass. Jansen, however, dashed toward the second base bag, reached his left arm across his body and made a back-handed stab at the ball. He planted his feet, picked up the ball and fired to Vilevac at first base to beat the runner by a foot for the out.

"They're just, like, really good to knock the ball down and get it back to me," Vilevac said of his defense.

Vilevac is no stranger to post-season success either as a transfer from Suffolk. Last season, his team won the district title and appeared in the state tournament. The game Saturday ended on a chopper to him down the first base line in the top of the sixth. He fielded the ball that ricocheted hard off the dirt in front of the plate, turned around and stepped on first base for the final out of the game.

"I think we know we can actually do something," said Jake Agnos of the win. "We know what they can do."