After the first full week of the Virginia District 10 Little League baseball tournament, local all-star teams so far have developed a mixed record.

Of the six Gainesville District Little League squads to play games before the fourth of July, the National majors and American 10-and-11-year-olds emerged with undefeated records through the early rounds.

The majors squad opened their tournament by edging out out Coles 3-2 on June 30, following up on the tight game with a 13-0 victory two days later against the national squad from Annandale-North Springfield.

Earlier, their younger counterparts won by a similarly convincing 14-3 margin June 28 in their only game before the end of the holiday weekend.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking losses for the other four squads came from the 10-and-11-year-old National team, forced to exit the double-elimination tournament after dropping two games by a combined three runs. Gainesville led both at some point.

According to head coach Dave Ellis, the games amounted to a learning experiences for a team that's improved since being the wrong end of run-rule blowouts in playoff years past.

"You ought to take something out of that," Ellis said he told his players. "You're getting better."

Against Coles on Saturday at Long Park in Haymarket, Gainesville built a 4-1 lead through the top half of the third inning with several clutch hits.

With Andrew McCarthy on second base and Dominic DeSimoni on first, starting pitcher Conrad Holbrooke cracked a two-run double and then scored himself after an RBI whack by Robert Christopher.

A single by Joey Cooper brought home Christopher to give Gainesville its fourth run of the inning and a three-run advantage before Coles responded in the bottom half with two runs.

Nursing a one-run lead heading into the fourth inning, Gainesville appeared ready to bust open the game as Macallister Fatheree and McCarthy lined the base paths with only one out on the board.

A line-out to the Coles short-stop kept the runners at bay, setting up Holbrook to play potential hero.

"In any type of engagement, there's a turning point," said Ellis.

What Gainesville and probably even Coles didn't expect was that turning point came from what Ellis described as a "collegiate-level" catch by Coles centerfielder Ryan Edwards.

Holbrook blasted a rocket to right-center field that, if it fell, easily would have scored one run if not two. However, Edwards took off running toward right field, tracked the ball's trajectory, stuck out his gloved left hand and laid-out for a true all-star grab.

He dived chest-first to the ground, lifted showed the infield his glove and ball and celebrated with a first-pump while he jogged back to the dugout to the sounds of applause from both sides of the stands.

"Ooo!" exclaimed Gainesville first-base coach Mike Settle.

"Wow," said someone in the visitor's dugout.

If the outfield acrobatics phased Holbrook, he did not show it on the mound. It took him just nine pitches to mow down three batters and give Gainesville another chance to expand its tenuous lead.

Christopher started the fifth by fighting back from an 0-2 count to earn a walk and headed up to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Cooper, eventually giving way to pinch runner Jacob Siuta.

Next up, Colton Ellis drew a base on balls, putting runners on first and second and three foul balls during a six-pitch at-bat for Paul Scheid forced a Coles pitching change.

The Coles defense came through though and kept the game at 4-3 leading into the bottom of the fifth.

Six fouls by the Coles lead-off hitter, including one off of his thumb, eventually gave way to a one-hop single to left field to re-establish momentum for the team in red.

"That was like that David Ortiz at-bat," said Logan Andrews in the Gainesville dugout, referring to the Boston Red Sox star slugger.

A follow-up RBI triple that rolled to the centerfield fence knotted the score and Coles capitalized on an infield miscue to take a 5-4 lead. An 0-2 single to straight-away center then brought home two more runs.

"Your whole season depends on this right now," Ellis could be heard telling his team in the dugout at the end of the inning as he gathered the boys together. "Four runs on three! One, two, three: four runs!"

McCarthy did his part, singling to shallow right field and advancing to second base on a wild pitch. Holbrook walked and both moved up a bag on another wild pitch.

Brandon Settle's chopper off the plate bounced between the third baseman and pitcher, coming to a stop in the infield grass with enough time for everyone to be safe and the game now just a two-run affair. All of that came into play as the potential tying run came to the plate against a 10-year-old pitcher with the playoffs on the line.

Yet instead of bucking to pressure, closer Matt Smith fired a four-pitch strikeout to end the game.

"He's probably the rawest talent we have," said Coles head coach Dave Bennett.