Gonzales helps Modesto’s Enochs top Beyer in MMC baseball

All-star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez had a big day for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Opening Day, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored in a 15-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

Enochs High’s Adrian Gonzales had a pretty good day, too.

The senior first baseman was 1 for 3 and scored the Eagles’ first run of the day, but it was his glove that made the biggest impact, helping his team to a 6-5 Modesto Metro Conference win over rival Beyer on Monday.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 7-0 in conference play while Beyer slips to 6-1. The teams will meet two more times this week: Wednesday at Paul Cornwell Field and Friday back at Dick Windemuth Field.

After the Eagles (10-5) snapped a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth when Eli Martinez raced home on an error, right fielder Jordan Walls led off the seventh for Beyer, striding to the plate with an MMC-leading .515 batting average.

Walls drilled a fastball from reliever Tanner Sheers down the first-base line that seemed destined for extra bases, but the 6-foot-4 Gonzales dove to his left, snagging the grounder and then beating Walls to the bag for the first out of the inning.

"I was shifted over, he’s a lefty and we knew that he’d pull the ball," said Gonzales. "It felt like I just fell over to stop that one … I used about every inch I had."

Had he not made play, they might be still be playing yet.

Beyer clean-up hitter Jack Large, the team’s leading RBI man (15), followed with a single that easily would’ve plated Walls.

"That was the play of the game right there," said Enochs coach Chris Butterfield, whose team trailed 5-2 after the Patriots (10-3) scored four in the top of the fourth. "Adrian works his tail off to be the best he can be every day."

With two games to play in the regular-season series, defending co-champ Beyer can still close the week as the MMC leader, but Enochs struck a blow by beating ace left-hander Kevin Duffy.

"I didn’t call an off-speed pitch until the third inning; that’s how good Duffy’s fastball was today," said Beyer coach Dom Duran. "We had a 5-2 lead with our ace on the mound … you have to give them credit."

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This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 7:40 AM with the headline "Gonzales helps Modesto’s Enochs top Beyer in MMC baseball."