Aptos Little League’s Majors All-Stars stuck with the formula that helped them win District 39 and Section 5 banners — pitching, defense, and offense — and that trifecta helped them enjoy success in their opener at the Northern California State Tournament.

Kiran Yager, Miles Lee, and Beau Pieracci threw a combined four-hitter, and Aptos smacked 13 hits and cruised to a 9-0 win over District 73 and Section 6 champ Los Banos at Lucchesi Park in Petaluma on Saturday.

“The kids played well, in all aspects, really,” Aptos manager Tim Reilly said. “You never know what you’re going to get that first game: new field, new scenery, new everything really, and the travel. And we were very pleased to see how we did respond.”

Aptos faces District 54 and Section 4 champ Maidu of Roseville in the winner’s bracket semifinals on Sunday afternoon, after the Sentinel went to press.

Maidu, which had a first-round bye, will be a tough test. It outscored opponents 24-0 while going 3-0 in the Section 4 Tournament.

“It should be a tougher matchup,” Reilly said. “We think we match up well. It should be a fun one.”

Aptos set itself up well by throwing three pitchers. Yager started and gave up three hits and one walk while striking out seven batter over three innings.

“Kiran did a great job on the mound,” Reilly said. “He calmed them down. He did great, especially when you’re the home team. He shut them down and then we got some runs early.”

Lee struck out two batters and gave up one hit in one inning of work, and Pieracci struck out five batters over two innings.

“We’re very mindful of our pitching, that you can’t pitch someone three days in a row,” Reilly said. “We think we have a pretty good pitching plan mapped out until at least Thursday.”

Ten of Aptos’ All-Stars had at least one hit. Ryan Santillan had two hits, two RBI, and scored a run. Yager and Lee each had two hits, one RBI, and a run scored. Pieracci had one hit, two walks, and scored twice.

Ethan Crump had a hit and two RBI. Patrick Collins and Wyatt Graaskamp each had a hit, one RBI, and scored a run.

Cody Pieracci had a hit and run scored, and Tysen Espinoza drew a walk and scored a run.

Hunter LaTorre and Nolan McKee also had hits.

Also on Sunday, Alpine/West Menlo faces Petaluma National in the winner’s bracket semifinals at 4 p.m., and Madera American faces West Redding in an elimination game at 7 p.m.