Modesto ill-prepared in opening loss to Los Banos at Windemuth

Modesto High School baseball coach Daryl Galloway fastened a steel drag to the back of his riding lawn mower and turned circles around the dirt infield.

With each pass, the stains of an 11-1 loss to Los Banos in the opening game of the 47th annual Dick Windemuth Easter Tournament on Monday disappeared.

Vince Alvarez went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Vinny Greco struck out five in a complete game as the Tigers (5-3) handed the host Panthers (7-5) their worst defeat of the season.

The game was called in the sixth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

While his team collected in the shade of a tree, Galloway, sitting atop his lawn mower, replayed the horrors of the 10-run defeat one footprint at a time.

Most of Modesto’s wounds were self-inflicted. The Panthers committed two errors that led to runs, went down in order in the third inning on just five pitches, and were burned by a double steal in the fourth.

“We’re out here on a beautiful day,” Galloway said. “It’s spring break and we’re on a field we work hard to make look good as it does, and this is where we want to be. And I felt like our energy wasn’t where it needed to be; I felt like our energy was elsewhere.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes. Los Banos is a pretty good team, but we made the kind of mistakes you can’t recover from.”

Los Banos took full advantage, scoring in every inning but the third as Modesto used three pitchers to no avail. The Tigers induced the mercy rule with a three-run sixth.

Leadoff hitter Kevin Spencer was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, while Ricky Abejuela was 4 for 4 with a double.

Even with all those hits, Modesto starter Tyler Shafer deserved a better decision. The sophomore minimized the damage through the first three innings.

Shafer made a sprawling stop on a grounder with the bases loaded in the second. He threw from his knees to home for the forceout and fanned the next batter to escape the jam.

“He’s a competitor and he did well,” said Galloway, who believes Shafer and freshman Trent Prokes can develop into front-line starters for the Panthers.

Shafer was pulled in the fifth as Los Banos erupted for four runs. The Tigers extended their lead to 8-1 when Modesto dropped a routine fly ball with two outs.

Carmelo Figueroa and Mason McGinnis came on in relief. Max McCabe drove in Modesto’s only run in the first inning. He also tripled off Greco, who struck out five in six innings.

“If we could have just made fewer mental mistakes, that would have keep the score closer and we would have definitely been in the game,” Galloway said. “Tyler didn’t deserve to have that many runs scored on him.”

Galloway will need Shafer, a lanky right-hander, to have a short memory.

He could play a starring role for the Panthers now that the Modesto Metro Conference has shifted to a new format. Teams now compete in a three-game series, with games on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Galloway has two starters in place – seniors Dylon Jackson and Ricardo Martinez – and said he’ll fill the third starting spot with the hot hand, Shafer or Prokes.

“I know the game got away from us, but I’m happy with Tyler’s performance because he threw strikes,” Galloway said. “If we can get those younger guys to throw strikes on a more consistent level, I really think our team can be very competitive in our league.”

Through two weeks of conference play, three teams – defending co-champion Beyer, Enochs and Modesto – have separated themselves in the standings.

Sylvan Avenue rivals Beyer and Enochs are tied for first at 6-0, while Modesto is one game back after losing on a walkoff single to Downey on Friday.

Galloway wasn’t happy to take another loss Monday, but he’s glad the setback came during spring break against a quality opponent.

“It shows that we got to work hard,” Galloway said. “We’re a good team, but we’re not quite there yet. We’ve got to get a little bit better for us to compete in league and with the teams in this tournament.”

Modesto and Los Banos also played Bradshaw Christian on Monday, but the results weren’t available by press time. The tournament continues Tuesday with three games: Patterson vs. Central Catholic, 10:30 a.m.; Lodi vs. Patterson, 1 p.m.; and Lodi vs. Central Catholic, 3:30 p.m.

Leave it to the guy wearing a hard hat atop a riding lawn mover to put these spring-break baseball games in perspective.

As picturesque as Streeter Field may seem this week, it is a work zone.

“This is where we want to work on some key things,” Galloway said. “When we get back into league, we go straight into Gregori, Enochs and Beyer. That’s the gauntlet right there and we got to be prepared for them.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Modesto ill-prepared in opening loss to Los Banos at Windemuth."