Baseball: Beyer, Enochs enter break tied atop MMC

Little separated the Beyer High and Gregori baseball teams last season.

They finished tied atop the Modesto Metro Conference standings at 11-1 and required a one-game playoff for the No. 1 overall seed. That game was won by Beyer’s Patriots, who have maintained that advantage over Gregori’s Jaguars in 2016.

Beyer completed a three-game series sweep of Gregori with a 3-1 victory on Thursday afternoon.

One day after playing a nine-inning game, the Patriots did all their damage in the first two innings to win their sixth straight.

Mike Scott drove in a run, Chris Alonzo went 2 for 3 and Jordan Walls laced a double for Beyer (7-2), which headed into the Easter break tied with Sylvan Avenue neighbor Enochs atop the conference standings at 6-0.

Josh Escobar threw a gem, giving up one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked two.

His performance was matched by Gregori’s Matt Dallas, who also gave up five hits in a complete-game effort. Michael Olivarez was 2 for 2 and Tyler Vandemark drove in the Jaguars’ only run.

Gregori (4-5, 0-3) will open the Oakdale High tournament against North Valleys of Reno on Monday, and returns to MMC play with a three-game set against Davis beginning on April 4.

Beyer will play Spanish Springs of Sparks, Nev., on Monday before its anticipated MMC showdown with Enochs on April 4.

Enochs 8, Johansen 0: Tanner Sheers didn’t need much run support against the punchless Vikings, but the high-flying Eagles (8-2, 6-0) left nothing to chance.

Sheers logged six shutout innings to notch his first win of the season. Eli Martinez and Kyle Fulbright had multiple hits for Enochs, which struck for runs in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

The Eagles outscored Johansen 39-0 in a three-game series sweep. The Vikings, 0-10 and 0-6 in conference play, haven’t scored a run since an 11-1 loss to Modesto on March 16.

Martinez was 3 for 5, while Fulbright was 2 for 5. Those two, along with Jordan Davidson and Chris Butterfield, drove in runs for the Eagles, who will compete at the San Luis Obispo Spring Tournament next week.

Johansen heads to the Art McCrae Easter Tournament in Ceres.

Ivan Betances and Isaac Smith doubled in Johansen’s 17th consecutive loss dating to last season.

Downey 4, Modesto 3: Brett Neves homered and drove in the game-winning run for Downey, which trailed 3-2 going into its final at-bat. The Knights scored two runs in the seventh, stealing the victory on Neves’ walkoff single.

“We’ve got a young but very competitive team,” Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said, “and I was happy for our kids that they pulled out the win.”

Downey (3-8, 1-5) mustered just three hits, but got plenty from Neves. The junior was 2 for 2 with a solo home run as the Knights snapped a six-game losing streak and picked up their first conference victory.

“Neves’ clutch hit was great for his confidence,” Plaa said. “The win was great for the team’s confidence.”

Elijah Oliver pitched into the seventh inning, giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out five against one walk. Jimmy Calvillo earned the win in relief with a pair of strikeouts.

Modesto (7-4, 5-1) had won five straight games, including the first two of this series, but dropped into second place.

Max McCabe stole a base and drove in two runs for the Panthers.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Baseball: Beyer, Enochs enter break tied atop MMC."