Dominant inning leads two-time defending CCAL champion to first league win
One inning turned momentum in the league opener between Turlock and Gregori Monday.
After going scoreless through the first two innings and trailing 1-0, the back-to-back defending league champions needed a spark.
Cue a three-run third inning.
After shutting out the Jaguars in the top half of the inning, the offense exploded to score the Bulldogs’ only runs of their 3-2 win.
Adam Torres singled and advanced to second on an errant throw to first, then moved up to third after the next batter grounded out. Cooper Pacheco drove him in on a sacrifice fly to tie the game with a pair of outs.
Owen McCord singled, Aiden De Los Santos lined an RBI double to center field and then came around to score during the next at bat as part of a two-out rally that gave the Bulldogs the lead and momentum.
That was all the insurance senior pitcher Cooper Pacheco needed.
He went the full game, striking out three batters and allowing just two hits, two runs , including one earned run in the narrow league-opening victory.
The Bulldogs return a lot of production from last season’s team that went 14-1 in Central California Athletic League play, swept all but one league series to capture the title and won a Division I playoff game. Though they entered Monday’s contest 4-4 overall in non-league games, the returners went from productive teammates last season to leaders this year in what is the final year of high school baseball for most of them.
“It’s good for the coaches because sometimes we don’t have to worry about it,” Turlock head coach Michael Souza said. “They do a good job picking each other up.”
Sometimes they get it done with words, encouraging each other to pick up their play. In other situations, they let their actions do the talking. The latter was the case Monday as each player responsible for the Bulldogs’ third inning flurry was a returner.
The Jaguars have four underclassmen in their starting lineup who entered Monday’s contest without an inning of league experience , but that didn’t stop them from putting up a fight against the two-time defending CCAL champions.
After a leadoff out, Stefan Thoukis and Chase Hardin singled in back-to-back at bats and Clayton Moreno was hit by a pitch to load the bases with just one out. Braxton Scales drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and before the end of the first inning the Jaguars held a lead.
Longtime head coach James Davis says he did not have to give the team a speech emphasizing that league play means more. The players already knew that and their play showed.
“If you have to sell them that we’re playing Turlock and that it’s a big, important series and the first important series of the year and motivate them to be at their best, then I may be in the wrong profession,” Gregori coach James Davis said. “I just want to see the kids play well, I want to see us compete.”
Even after the Bulldogs rallied with a pair of runs in the middle and late innings to take a 3-1 advantage, the Jaguars kept plugging away. They put the ball in play and consistently put runners on base and made plays defensively.
In the bottom of the fourth, a leadoff single followed by a pair of intentional walks later in the inning loaded the bases with two outs but senior pitcher Mike Carrera secured one of his four strikeouts to end the inning.
The ensuing half inning, Gregori trimmed the lead to one after Sebastian Joseph and Hardin reached on errors. During the next at bat, Joseph stole third, forced a wild throw from the Turlock catcher and scored on a throwing error, making it a 3-2 game.
Though they did not score in the top of the seventh inning, a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to second base with one out before Pacheco forced the final two outs.
“Today was a positive step forward for us,” Davis said.
The series continues Wednesday at Gregori before returning to Turlock for the series finale Friday. Both games are at 4 p.m.
