MJC ends 2-year drought vs. Delta with 3-1 win

For the past two years and especially the past week, the Modesto Junior College Pirates channeled Sisyphus – the thankless mythical king punished by endlessly pushing a rock up a hill – against San Joaquin Delta.

The Pirates had not beaten the Mustangs in two years and stared them down – without any reward – during three losses over the past week. It seemed like Modesto never would escape Delta’s dominance.

For one sun-splashed Thursday afternoon, MJC finally reached the hilltop. Strong pitching by Brandon Scott and Matt Burrows and an important pinch-hit by Spencer Thomas carried the Pirates to a satisfying 3-1 win at the MJC ballpark.

“To break through is good for our guys,” MJC coach Zeb Brayton said. “We’ve been getting our guts ripped out. We earned it today with a good character win.”

The Pirates (7-11, 1-2) happily gathered at the mound after Burrows induced a game-ending flyout. It was not just a standard-issue Big 8 Conference victory. Delta (16-2, 2-1), ranked sixth in the nation and the state runner-up in 2014 and ’15, had won 12 straight games. Its confidence and swagger befits a championship team.

Consider the Mustangs’ recent wins over Modesto: Six runs in the eighth to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 7-3 win, followed by tight 4-3 and 2-1 decisions.

“It feels good to finally get ’em. That was my last chance against Delta,” said Thomas, a sophomore who rejoined the team only two weeks ago after he skirted a major health scare. “Most of our games are close against them.”

Thomas was summoned during a fifth-inning battle of wits between Brayton and Delta coach Reed Peters, who asked for left-handed reliever Tristan Pryblinski to face MJC’s left-hand-hitting Carlos Lino. Brayton answered by inserting Thomas, who bats from the right side.

Thomas, 0 for 2 this season before the at-bat, poked an outside changeup that found safe harbor in shallow right. Anthony Nunez and Colt Parshall dashed home for a 3-0 MJC lead.

“He (Brayton) told me the batter before to get ready, that he might put me up there,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t matter how hard I hit it, as long as it fell in.”

Scott (4-1) struck out five and blanked Delta for five solid innings. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth when he retired Carlos Moselely – who homered against Modesto on Tuesday – by jumping ahead 0-2 and getting the out on a fly ball.

Modesto jumped in front 1-0 in the second when Lino walked, sped to third on Jaden Alsop’s double to left-center and scored on Robert Steves’ groundout.

Burrows followed Scott’s lead and dodged harm via two ground-ball double plays. The Mustangs closed to 3-1 in the seventh on Marcus Vidales’ RBI single after a disputed balk.

More good defense kept the Pirates in charge. Burrows opened the ninth with two strikeouts and, after a two-out single, finished it.

“We’ve been working very hard, and the breaks came our way,” Burrows said. “I could have gone as long as they wanted me today.”

Modesto, which welcomes Sacramento to its diamond Saturday at 1 p.m., will use the game as a measuring stick. The Pirates hope the long-sought victory over Delta will vault them to more success.

“We got the big hit today that we haven’t been getting,” Brayton said. “I’m proud of our guys after we fought them for four games.”

And, for once, the rock didn’t roll back downhill.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 8:07 PM with the headline "MJC ends 2-year drought vs. Delta with 3-1 win."