LODI -- Logan Handzlik needed a short memory Wednesday, after allowing the winning run early in the day to force a winner-take-all game.
"I didn't talk to anyone afterward, I just stayed by myself and focused on what was next," Oakdale High's junior right-hander said. "I knew it was down to one game, and I didn't want us going home, not just yet."
Handzlik fired a five-hit shutout, striking out 10 to raise his record to 11-2, as Oakdale beat Vista del Lago 4-0 to win the best-of-three series.
Oakdale won Saturday's opener and jumped to a 6-0 lead in Wednesday's first game, but Vista rallied to win 12-11 on a walk-off double in the seventh. Handzlik, who had just entered in relief, took his second loss.
In the nightcap, Handzlik allowing five singles — and two infield.
"Logan's been getting stronger later in the season, and that's what we want to see," coach Hondo Arpoika said. "We got him a week's rest late this season, same with (No. 2 pitcher Andy) Morris, and it's worked out."
Handzlik (11-2, 1.69 ERA) is expecting one more start: Oakdale (26-5) is facing rival Sonora (20-10) and ace Ryan Stevenson (11-2, 1.24) Monday for the Sac-Joaquin Section crown.
The Division 4 final will be at Zupo Field in Lodi, most likely at 6 p.m.
The Mustangs manufactured a few runs on the bases in the nightcap, using speed to outmaneuver Vista.With runners on first and third and two out in the third, Mark Ortiz stole home as Vista tried to catch the other runner in a rundown at second.
Two more runs scored in the fifth on an infield single by Erikson Dickens. With runners on second and third with two out, he hit a slow roller that got past the pitcher — and he beat the throw to first. Vista began to argue the play, and Morris kept running to score from second.
Ortiz turned a blooper behind second into a leadoff double in the seventh, continuing to run when Vista didn't cover second, and scored on Spencer Thomas' suicide squeeze.
The 6-foot-3 Dickens was the defensive star, preventing three errors by using his reach to grab wild throws.
Oakdale looked on its way to the section final after just two at-bats in the opener, as Morris' three-run double and Simmons' triple staked junior lefty Eddie Machado to a 6-0 lead.
Machado, the No. 3 starter, lost the lead fast: Vista led 9-7 after three.
Oakdale scored four in the top of the seventh, tying it at 11 on Ortiz's three-run homer. Vista's leadoff hitter reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh and scored when the next batter drilled a shot to right.
Section Championship Games(Memorial Day/Zupo Field*)
• Division 4: Sonora (20-10) vs. Oakdale (24-5)
• Division 5: Hilmar (16-8) vs. Escalon (26-1)
• Division 6: Bradshaw Chr. (26-5) vs. Mariposa (18-5)
*-Times to be determined
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