Turlock edges Pitman in Game 1 of crosstown CCAL baseball rivalry series
It doesn’t get much better than crosstown rivals playing in a league game with playoff positioning on the line.
Pitman and Turlock entered Monday’s Central California Athletic League series opener knotted at 27 wins apiece since 2005, according to MaxPreps. So it was only right that Monday’s showdown at Turlock High came down to a sixth-inning bases-loaded situation.
Pitman was looking to flip the game on its head, trailing 3-1 with two outs. The only runs of the game were scored in the early innings. Turlock put up three quickly in the bottom of the first inning and Pitman’s lone run came in the top of the third. Pitchers Nathan Cervantes (Pitman) and Jaron Rocha (Turlock) held their opposition scoreless after that, making the sixth-inning spot more important.
Rocha struck out the next batter in three pitches, getting out of the jam and stranding the bases loaded in what ended up being the Pride’s last major threat at winning the game. Rocha got the first two outs of the seventh inning and Josh Ramirez came in to collect the final out and the save in Turlock’s 3-1 win.
“Every time Pitman and Turlock play, there’s rarely going to be a blowout,” Turlock coach Mike Souza said. “Whenever we play each other, it’s going to be a good game.”
With the win, Turlock extends its lead at the top of the league.
The Bulldogs, who are defending champs chasing their second straight league title, are well on their way to winning 10 or more league games for the sixth straight season, dating back to 2019, the year before the pandemic.
Rocha pitched 6.2 innings, striking out eight batters and surrendering eight hits.
“Rocha pitched his butt off,” Souza said. “He’s been a bulldog for us all year and that just shows his character. A lot of kids in high school, they’d buckle (with the bases loaded), that’s a big situation.”
Surprisingly, Turlock could put together only a three-hit game, but it found other ways to score. Ramirez, who started at shortstop before relieving Rocha in the seventh, led off the Turlock half of the first with a single. With two outs, he scored on a Mason Hackler single. Rocha, who walked earlier in the inning, and Hackler scored on an error in the first inning.
They scored all three of their runs in the first inning, but it was enough to give Turlock its ninth CCAL win and 11th victory overall.
“We’re happy we’re in first but we told the boys we can’t have any hiccups,” Souza said. “We have one hiccup and we’re co-champs and that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for outright champs so we’ve just got to keep grinding.”
Pitman out-hit the Bulldogs, putting together an eight hit game.
Nathan Cervantes collected three hits himself, Cole Kelley and Blake Rose added two hits apiece and Jackson Way had a third-inning double and scored the Pride’s only run of the game. Cervantes drove him in with an RBI single. Pitman has scored just one run in four of its last five league games.
“We’ve got to be a little sharper on the execution side offensively,” coach Andy Walker said. “We had a lot of opportunities. I thought we played good … we’ve had back-to-back great starts but want to give them a little more runs to support them.”
On the mound, Noah Cervantes pitched the full game, and despite giving up three runs and one earned run, struck out seven batters and allowed just three hits.
Pitman is 3-7 in league play and needs wins in its final two league series to jump into the playoff picture. The Pride will need to battle Downey and Enochs for the third seed in the league. Making the most of offensive opportunities, Walker said, will be key if they want to make a playoff push.
“We’re not the Yankees,” Walker said. “We’re not gonna roll up with Aaron Judge and hit it into the trees, so we’ve got to be able to play baseball and find ways to manufacture runs.”
The series continues Wednesday at Pitman before the series finale Friday back at Turlock.
Baseball
Patterson 6, Sierra 1: Max Medina pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and an unearned run with seven strikeouts. Noah Cozart and CJ Medina had doubles, Caden Lozano tallied a team-high two hits and tied with Andrew Garcia with a game-high two RBI. Patterson looks to win its first VOL series since it took two of three from East Union in late March.
Enochs 19, Modesto 1: Caden Reeve hit three home runs, drove in seven total RBI and scored five runs to lead Enochs to its first series-opening CCAL win since March 19. Bryan Delgado also hit a home run and added four RBI and Jaden Souza drove in a pair of runs. Four other players recorded at least one RBI. Jesse Del Toro got the start and pitched four of the five innings, striking out four.
Central Catholic 8, Mountain House 0: Broden Thomas hit his team-high fifth home run this season, Kayden McHenry tripled and Jacob Kiesel doubled to keep the Raiders atop the VOL. Chase Perino and Joe Farinha drove in a game-high two runs apiece. Marcus Davenport went the full seven innings, allowing just one hit and striking out nine.
Oakdale 4, East Union 1: Landon Schutte struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits in seven innings pitched. Offensively, he drove in a team-high two runs and had two hits. Griffin Costa drove in a game-high four runs and had a double.
Downey 12, Gregori 4: Downey continued hitting its stride Monday, taking the first of a three-game series against the Jaguars, who entered the week as the league’s No. 2 team. Downey and Gregori are now playing for second place, with both teams entering Wednesday’s Game 2 with 7-3 league records.
Softball
Beyer 9, Davis 0: Jordyn Lish threw a one-hitter and struck out 12 batters as Beyer picked up its ninth WAC win this season. Offensively, Lush, Lily Jaquez and Mackenzie Hough tallied two hits. Hough finished with a game-high three RBI.
Ceres 22, Pacheco 9: Elizabeth Figueroa drove in four runs, Emma Hernandez, Tatianna Ortiz and Ava Montesdeoca drove in three and Amaia Pritchett had a pair of RBI as Ceres was dominant in its win over Pacheco in the strikeout cancer game. The Bulldogs move to 9-2 in WAC play this season
Lathrop 18, Johansen 16: Despite finishing with its second-highest scoring game this season, Johansen could not overcome giving up four doubles, one triple and 18 overall hits to Lathrop in a WAC contest.
Livingston 11, Central Valley 1: Brooklyn Steeley tallied a team-high two hits while Gabriela Delatorre and Abigail Krauss added hits. Selene Valencia recorded the Hawks’ only RBI.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
