Local Digest: Modesto JC tennis gains second straight league co-title
For the second straight year, the Modesto Junior College men’s tennis team has turned “home-court advantage” into a Big 8-South Conference title.
The Pirates (8-1) swept three doubles matches Tuesday afternoon to defeat Fresno 5-4, thus tying the Rams for the conference title. Modesto avenged an 8-1 loss to Fresno last month. The teams also shared the title in 2015 after a regular season-ending MJC victory.
“We’ve been focusing on doubles so much. It clicked for us. Team chemistry has really improved,” MJC coach Shawn Black said. “The guys were very excited.”
Modesto was anchored by doubles tandems Mike Lopez and Nathan Saragoza, Nick Reilley and Tom Geaney, and Alex Wolski and Octavio Padilla. All three pairs answered losses to Fresno last month with clutch wins. Reilley and Geaney clinched the co-title with a tight 9-7 win.
Padilla and Saragoza came through with singles wins. Saragoza dropped the first set but rallied to win a match that lasted more than two hours.
Modesto, which qualified for the NorCal team playoffs next week, begins the three-day conference tournament Thursday at Fresno.
Baseball
Pirates defeat Sierra – Carlos Lino drove in two runs as Modesto (8-15, 2-6 Big 8) snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating visiting Sierra 8-5.
Modesto took charge with three-run rallies in the fourth and fifth innings. A run-scoring double by Austin Garcia and an RBI triple by Lino put the Pirates ahead to stay. Michael McGhee capped the fourth-inning rally with a sacrifice fly. The Pirates added two unearned runs in the eighth.
Drew Stahl (1-2) gave up two earned runs in six innings for the win. Noel Sanchez went 2 2/3 innings before he gave way to Tyler Moss for the rally-ending final out.
Modesto and Sierra (11-12, 1-7) meet in the rubber game of the series Thursday afternoon at Sierra.
Walk-off Stanislaus win – Aldo Koutsoyanopulos walked with the bases loaded to cap a three-run ninth-inning rally as host Cal State Stanislaus defeated NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State 6-5.
Gino Franceschetti’s two-run double down the left-field line tied the score for the Warriors (15-12), who bounced back after a doubleheader loss Monday to Cal State Monterey Bay.
Franceschetti went 3 for 4 and drove in four runs for the Warriors, and Scott Stetson went 3 for 3 and scored three times.
McRae Tournament – Johansen, winless going into Ceres’ Art McRae Tournament, won its second game in as many days, 14-4 over Delhi. The Vikings (2-10) snapped a 17-game losing streak stretching back to last season with a 13-5 decision over Waterford on Monday.
Zack Clemin had three hits and drove in four runs, Vincent Ford had three RBIs and winning pitcher Efrain Solano scored four runs.
Modesto Christian (7-4) fell to 1-1 in the tournament after a 7-6 loss to Kimball. On Monday, the Crusaders’ Andrew Morones went 4 for 5 with two triples and three RBIs during a six-inning 15-5 win over Delhi.
Oakdale Tournament – Gregori (6-6) improved to 1-1 at Oakdale’s Mark Dickens Hustle For The Future Tournament, thanks to a 9-2 win over Escalon. The Jaguars were beaten 2-1 by North Valleys of Reno in their opening game. Brandon Pasion allowed four hits in defeat for Gregori, and teammate Matt Dallas singled and tripled.
Nonleague road win for Beyer – The Patriots (9-1) pushed across a run in the sixth inning for a 5-4 nonleague win over Spanish Springs in Sparks, Nev. Matt Williams pitched two shutout innings for the win in relief of starter Kevin Duffy. Gaven Rowland drove in three runs for Beyer.
Softball
Delta no-hits Pirates – Kristin Borst struck out 11 and pitched a no-hitter as Delta blanked Modesto 7-0 at MJC West. The Pirates (4-19, 0-9 Big 8) gave up four runs in the first inning.
This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Local Digest: Modesto JC tennis gains second straight league co-title."