Modesto Nuts rally off A’s pitcher Doolittle to beat Ports in Stockton
The Modesto Nuts scored two runs in the seventh inning off Oakland A’s rehabbing reliever Sean Doolittle, beating the Stockton Ports 3-1 on Sunday in a California League matchup at Banner Island Ballpark.
Doolittle, who made his first rehab appearance with a 12-pitch outing Thursday against High Desert, entered in the seventh after six solid innings from starter Lou Trivino, who allowed one hit and one walk while striking out six.
Nuts third baseman Ryan McMahon led off with a single to left, and right fielder Rosell Herrera hit a one-out single to right. After Doolittle got Troy Stein to pop out to second, Modesto’s Dillon Thomas drilled a double to left that plated both runners, snapping a 1-1 tie.
The Nuts took a 1-0 lead in the second when Correlle Prime led off with a home run to center off Trivino. The Ports evened the score in the fourth when Brett Vertigan, who led off with a triple, raced home on Branden Cogswell’s sacrifice fly to center.
Antonio Senzatela pitched seven strong innings for the Nuts, giving up five hits and a walk in limiting the Ports to one run. He struck out four. Shane Broyles entered in the eighth and earned his first hold of the season, and Trent Daniel pitched the ninth for his first save of the year.
The teams will put a bow on their four-game series on Monday at 7:10 p.m. On Tuesday, the Nuts will be in San Jose for a three-game set, then return home for four with Visalia.
High school softball
Division I playoffs – Pitman split two games Saturday and now must come through the losers’ bracket in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
The fifth-seeded Pride (22-7) defeated Franklin of Elk Grove 9-1, then lost to Vacaville 8-3 in a winners’ bracket semifinal. Pitman will take on River City on Monday at 5 p.m. The winner meets either Bella Vista or Woodcreek on Tuesday.
Against Franklin, pitcher Lexi Mettler had 10 strikeouts and allowed just four hits while going 3 for 4 with a double, homer, two RBIs, three runs and three stolen bases.
Division III playoffs – East Union scored three runs in the first inning and didn’t look back en route to a 7-1 victory over Ponderosa in a winners’ bracket semifinal Saturday at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
Alexis Erich was 2 for 3 with a double, homer and four RBIs, and teammate Samantha Owen was 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored.
The second-seeded Lancers (27-2) will play No. 1 Pioneer (25-2) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. for a berth in Wednesday’s championship game.
Pioneer defeated Ceres 2-1 in eight innings Saturday, scoring the winning run on a bases-loaded error. Ceres (22-8) held the Patriots to two hits but committed three errors and scored only once on its eight hits. The No. 4 Bulldogs will play No. 6 Vanden on Monday at 6 p.m. in an elimination game.
This story was originally published May 17, 2015 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Modesto Nuts rally off A’s pitcher Doolittle to beat Ports in Stockton."