Central Catholic beats Los Banos in first round. Here’s who else won in baseball playoffs
A fourth-inning single was the only hope the Central Catholic baseball team allowed visiting Los Banos in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.
The Raiders earned the No. 3 seed in the division after winning the Valley Oak League outright for their third straight league title. The Tigers finished second in the Western Athletic conference and were given the No. 14 seed.
TP Wentworth remained unbeaten on the season, moving to 8-0 after going all seven innings, pitching his sixth shutout of the season. He struck out 10 Los Banos batters — his fifth game with 10 or more strikeouts in 10 pitching appearances. His full arsenal was on display. Wentworth’s fastballs, changeup and slider all were working. He allowed just one hit.
“I was just trying to go right at guys,” he said. “That’s the goal: Throwing strikes, putting the pressure on them to go make something happen. It just happened where some (pitches) got by them a couple times today.”
After producing just one hit and one run in the first four innings, the Raiders’ offense came alive after senior Braxton Thomas hit his 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 1-1 pitch over the right-field fence for a solo shot to give his team a 2-0 lead.
In the final two innings, the Raiders scored three runs on five hits, putting the game out of Los Banos’ reach.
“It was a big boost to our team,” said Thomas, who will play for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo next season. “Everyone got hyped after that, and then we just started stacking on runs.”
After a 1-2-3 top of the sixth, Fernando Alaniz opened the bottom half with a leadoff single, Seth Van Dyk followed with a double and Adrian Garcia doubled to center field, driving in a run before Los Banos recorded its first out. After a walk, Xavier Deep drove in the Raiders’ final run on a single to center field.
“We started off a little flat in terms of energy overall. We caught a couple good barrels but Los Banos made some great plays,” Wentworth said. “I think they just kind of started to drop as the game went on. We found those holes and … it worked out.”
The Raiders on Thursday host No. 6 Roseville (18-10), which finished third in the Capital Valley Conference. The Tigers narrowly escaped a first-round upset, scoring their only run of the game in the first inning, beating No. 11 Sierra 1-0.
“This is a good start, we got some barrels going and we’re excited to see how we continue to progress,” Wentworth said of Tuesday’s win. “It’s always nice to win when you could have played better and when you know that really good, clean game is coming down the road. So hopefully we can do that on Thursday and keep it rolling.”
A win would mean Central Catholic’s second straight Division III semifinal. They will play the winner of No. 10 Vista del Lago and No. 2 Christian Brothers in a best-of-three series that starts Monday, May 15.
Baseball playoffs
Oak Ridge 4, Turlock 0: The Bulldogs could produce only two hits on the road in their Division I playoff opener Tuesday. Josh Ramirez came up with Turlock’s lone extra base hit, finding a gap for a double. After finishing second in the CCAL, Turlock’s season ends with a 15-12-1 overall record.
Pitman 5, Ceres 0: Aidan Garcia and Christian Jacinto each drove in a pair of runs in the Pride’s home playoff opener against Ceres. Pitman, the top-ranked team in Division II, plays Rodriguez, which shut out previously unbeaten Linden, in the second round.
Jesuit 7, Downey 1: Downey scored first, producing a run in the top of the first inning, but could not contain Jesuit’s offense on the road in the first round of the Division II playoffs. The Knights’ season ends with a 14-12 record.
Oakdale 9, Del Campo 8: Oakdale traveled and took down Del Campo in the Division III No. 8 vs No. 9 matchup. In his first playoff action, freshman Landon Schutte showed no signs of nerves, pitching the full game and striking out six batters. The Mustangs travel to No. 1 seed Ponderosa on Thursday.
Pioneer 4, Patterson 1: The Tigers could score only in the third inning against the fourth-ranked Division III team. Patterson’s season ends with a 14-8 record.
Christian Brothers 15, Beyer 1: Beyer could not stop the Falcons’ offense, giving up runs in four innings. Jack Soares struck out 16 Beyer batters.
Ripon 8, Sonora 2: After finishing as the Trans-Valley League champion, Ripon put up eight runs in the first round of the Division IV playoffs. Dawson Downs finished with a team-high three RBIs and struck out six batters in seven innings of work.
Softball
Modesto 6, Downey 2: A three-run seventh inning helped the Panthers seal their fifth CCAL win. Modesto broke a three-game losing streak, picking up a victory in the final game of the season for both teams.
Millennium 6, Big Valley Christian 2: Two Millennium runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth put the game out of reach for the Lions, who could have possibly jumped the Falcons in the league rankings with a win. Big Valley, the CCAA third-place team, could not mount a comeback, scoring just one run in the sixth inning.
Gregori 8, Turlock 2: Kailey Estes pitched six innings, striking out nine batters and giving up just one first-inning run. She helped herself out with a hit and two RBIs on offense. Emily Tyler led the Jaguars with three hits and three RBIs. Gregori finishes the regular season second in the CCAL with a 12-3 record.
Ripon Christian 10, Denair 0: The Knights ended a two-game skid with a five-inning win over Denair. Teagan Chapman pitched the full game, striking out seven batters, and added a triple. Reagan Van Der Hoek led the team with three RBIs, and Kailee Alejandre added two.
Ceres 35, Davis 2: The Bulldogs scored 14 first-inning runs en route to their 10th Western Athletic Conference win. Ava Montesdeoca tallied a season-high eight RBIs and hit three home runs. Alizae Cole went a perfect 5-for-5 and added two home runs and four RBIs.
Orestimba 11, Mariposa County 1: Jacquelyn Lujan pitched a full seven innings, giving up just one run and striking out 13 batters. Hailey Starr and Belany Martens finished with a team-high three RBIs. The Southern League-leading Warriors play their final two league games before the postseason against Le Grand and Gustine.
Oakdale 13, Sierra 3: The Mustangs used nine runs combined in the third and fourth innings to finish off the Timberwolves in five. Presley Barnes hit a home run and a double and finished tied with Jaelyn Lee with a team-high three RBIs. Lee also added a double. The Mustangs will have one final chance to even their league record with Central Catholic Wednesday.
Central Catholic 7, Kimball 2: Randi Roelling struck out 14 batters on senior day as the Raiders picked up their ninth straight win. Madison Harrison added her fourth home run of the season and finished with a team-high three RBIs. Harrison has hit a home run in three of her last four games. The Raiders take their unbeaten Valley Oak League record into the final regular season matchup with Oakdale.
Beyer 3, Johansen 0: Jordyn Lish pitched a complete seven shutout innings, giving up just one hit and striking out nine batters. Lysh added a double and an RBI for Beyer, the fourth-place team in the WAC.
Enochs 10, Pitman 0: The Eagles earned a perfect CCAL record Tuesday with a five-inning win over Pitman. Natalie Camarena pitched four innings and Kaylin McNeill earned the final three outs as the pair combined for a shutout. Vivian Hurst went a perfect 3-for-3 with a team-high four RBIs and was one of four players on the day to hit 1.000. The Eagles take a 10-game winning streak into the postseason and await their playoff seeding.
