Soderstrom, Etharidge propel Turlock to road victory over Sierra

There was a leak in the Sierra High defense long before Tate Soderstrom and Tyler Etharidge stepped to the plate.

Starting pitcher Jacob Peterson walked the first batter of the game and then sailed a throw over the first baseman’s head, giving Turlock a chance to bust open the non-league game between perennial playoff teams.

Tate Soderstrom and Tyler Etharidge, Turlock’s power, were happy to oblige.

The University of Arizona-bound Soderstrom singled sharply through the left side of the infield and Etharidge drove a two-run double to the wall in center field, propelling the Bulldogs to a 5-3 victory.

Turlock scored four runs in the first and then held on against the Timberwolves, who outhit the defending Central California Conference champions the rest of the way. Sierra pounded out 10 hits, including two apiece by Peterson and Abraham Velasco.

Hunter Frisk and Peterson each had RBI doubles for Sierra (4-3), which made it a one-run game with runs in the third and fifth innings.

Turlock put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh with an RBI by Kayleb Becerra.

Alden Norquist also drove in a run to cap the first-inning flurry. His pop-up to shallow right field was chased by three Timberwolves, but mishandled by the second baseman. Etharidge scored on the second error of the inning.

Cameron Martin (1-0) pitched into the fifth inning to earn the win. He allowed three runs on five hits before turning the ball over to Bobby Martinez and Soderstrom, who pitched the seventh for his first save. Martin escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning.

Peterson, a returning all-Valley Oak League selection, settled after his rocky start. The junior went the distance, allowing four runs on just four hits. The loss was his first in five appearances.

Peterson is the leader of a young dugout: Of Sierra’s 19 players, 14 are juniors.

The Bulldogs snapped a two-game losing streak and will continue a rugged non-league schedule with a home tilt Saturday against Beyer (3-2), the reigning Modesto Metro Conference champion and potential Sac-Joaquin Section Division I opponent.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Soderstrom, Etharidge propel Turlock to road victory over Sierra."