High School Sports

Here is Stanislaus District fans’ pick for The Bee’s Boys Prep of the Week

Pitman’s Andrew Balentine connects for a base hit during the Division 2 Sac-Joaquin Section Baseball Playoff game with Rio Americano (Sacramento) at Pitman High School in Turlock, Calif., on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Rio won the game 7-1.
Pitman’s Andrew Balentine connects for a base hit during the Division 2 Sac-Joaquin Section Baseball Playoff game with Rio Americano (Sacramento) at Pitman High School in Turlock, Calif., on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Rio won the game 7-1. Andy Alfaro aalfaro@modbee.com

The Pitman High baseball team took a break from Central California Athletic League play to participate in the Central Coast Baseball Classic from April 12-14.

The Pride went 2-2 in the event, falling in the opening game to Westlake and in their final contest against San Luis Obispo. Their two wins came against Righetti of Santa Maria in a close 9-7 matchup and a dominant 20-0 victory against Merced.

Fresno State signee Andrew Balentine was dominant at the plate against Merced, tallying three hits with a triple and a home run, driving in four and scoring three runs to help lead the team to its 10th win this season.

The fans noticed his performance, voting him The Bee’s Boys Player of the Week.

Balentine finished first after collecting 76% of the votes in the weekly poll. He came in ahead of baseball players Payton Hawkinson (Turlock) and Robert McDaniel (Hughson), who finished second and third.

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Quinton Hamilton
The Modesto Bee
Quinton Hamilton covers high school sports for The Modesto Bee. He is a Southern California native and received his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Union College and a master’s in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Quinton has worked at the Record-Journal in Meriden and helped on projects at Hearst Connecticut.
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