Beyer baseball’s magic number to clinch No. 1 playoff seed is two

As of now, there is only one certainty in the Modesto Metro Conference: Dominic Duran and his Beyer High School baseball team are its toughest out.

With a 5-0 victory over Modesto on Monday, the Patriots reduced their magic number to clinch at least a share of the conference crown and the No. 1 playoff seed to two.

Kevin Duffy threw a two-hitter, and Beyer backed him with 11 hits, including doubles by reigning league MVP Jack Large, Chris Alonzo and Matt Williams.

The Patriots struck for two runs in the first inning and three in the fifth to improve to 15-3 overall and 12-1 in league.

Williams was 3 for 3, while Jordan Walls and Alonzo had two hits apiece. Chase Fetzer, Large, Alonzo and Walls drove in a run apiece.

Modesto (8-13-1, 6-7), which has lost six of its last seven, committed four errors. Tyler Shafer and Michael Alvarado had the Panthers’ hits off Duffy, who struck out eight and hasn’t allowed a run in 12 innings.

Beyer has won six in a row and owns a sizable advantage in the MMC with five games left. Gregori (15-7, 9-4) trails the Patriots by three games, followed by Enochs (14-10, 11-5).

The top three teams advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I South tournament.

Even if the Jaguars or Eagles catch the Patriots, Beyer would receive the top playoff seed because it owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against both. Beyer swept Gregori and took two of three against Enochs.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Beyer baseball’s magic number to clinch No. 1 playoff seed is two."