Playing with ‘Pasion,’ Gregori baseball shuts out Downey

A year ago, Branden Pasion was a promising freshman deciding games at the junior varsity level with a unique delivery and whip-like right arm. The baby-faced sophomore was talented enough to grab the eye of Gregori High School coach Jim Davis.

On Monday, Pasion took the ball during a pivotal varsity game and pitched with the poise and confidence of an upperclassman.

Pasion tossed a four-hit shutout as the Jaguars moved within a game of clinching a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth with an 8-0 Modesto Metro Conference victory at Downey.

One game after Matt Dallas pitched the first perfect game in program history, Pasion delivered another gem.

“Branden Pasion has been our Monday pitcher every week of league this year. Nothing was given to him. He earned it,” Davis said. “We saw the talent as a freshman, and we realized this young man had all the potential and ability to play baseball at our level. He’s stepped up and embraced the challenge.”

Three days after thumping Enochs in their series finale, the Jaguars’ bats stayed hot, pounding 16 hits against three pitchers. Dallas went 2 for 4 with two RBI doubles, Cody Patterson drove in two runs and doubled, and Roberto Flores legged out a run-scoring triple for the Jaguars, who can clinch a Division I South berth with a victory Wednesday at Mastagni Field.

Gregori (17-8, 11-5 MMC) entered the week with a one-game lead on Downey (11-14, 9-7) in the race for the final postseason berth. League champion Beyer and Enochs have clinched.

“For us to jump on them quick and continue to put pressure on them and score, it’s testament to our kids and their mindset,” said Davis, whose team has scored 18 runs in the last two games. “Our goal now is to win on Wednesday. If we play our brand of baseball, we feel like we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

Downey needs to win the remaining two games to clinch their first postseason berth since 2011. The boys in powder blue aren’t panicking. The young and ever-improving Knights left the diamond pleased with their performance over the final two innings.

Reliever Tyler Foote kept the Jaguars in check over the final two innings, and coach Jeremy Plaa was pleased with the number of hard-hit outs.

Plaa hopes they can roll that momentum into Wednesday’s make-or-break game. Elijah Oliver will get the start against A.J. MacCaughtry.

“They were hitting the ball into the gaps, and I thought we were hitting the ball really well to start the game, too,” Plaa said. “We were just hitting them right at people.

“Baseball is a tricky game. We’ve been winning games with momentum. When we beat Enochs, Modesto and teams like that, we’ve beat them with momentum and team baseball.”

Plaa believes the number of seniors on the Gregori roster also played a major role in Monday’s outcome, but it was an underclassman who kept the Knights off balance. Pasion snapped Downey’s four-game winning streak and improved to 5-4 with four complete games in his first varsity season.

The Knights managed four singles against the right-hander with the quirky delivery.

Leadoff hitter Braden Plaa walked twice and singled in the fifth. He moved into scoring position on a walk and an error with one out in the first inning but was stranded. Pasion summoned a strikeout and induced an inning-ending lineout to escape danger.

Downey wouldn’t have another runner reach scoring position until the fifth inning. Again, Pasion responded with a strikeout and popup.

“You’re not going to find a bigger game for any young man than today, and Brandon went out there and pounded the strike zone,” Davis said. “Downey has been playing really good baseball, and for him to do that at the age that he’s at and with the maturity he has right now, he did a great job.”

Early offense calmed Pasion’s nerves. Gregori scored two runs each in the first and second innings, highlighted by Patterson’s third extra-base hit in three games. Andrew Urrutia had an RBI single in the second inning.

“It lets me relax,” Pasion said of the early lead. “I can go out there and do my thing.

“The way I see it, every game is important, and this one was no different. I just needed to go out there and throw strikes and feed my defense. I knew my offense would back me up.”

Tyler Vandemark, John Hernandez, Hector Guerrero, Patterson and Urrutia had two hits apiece.

Michael Olivarez doubled in the third, setting the table for Dallas’ RBI double. Jimmy McClenaghan doubled in the fourth and scored on Flores’ triple.

“This was a big game, and we knew we had to win,” Pasion said. “We gave it all we had, and now we have to do that again on Wednesday.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Playing with ‘Pasion,’ Gregori baseball shuts out Downey."