Gregori baseball follows Vandemark’s lead

Tyler Vandemark didn’t begin the season atop the batting order for the Gregori High School baseball team.

The fleet-footed junior has moved his way up the lineup, taking advantage of injuries, pitching matchups and momentum.

His ascension to leadoff hitter has coincided with the performance of the team. Since getting swept by large-school No. 1 Beyer to start Modesto Metro Conference play, No. 4 Gregori has won 12 of its last 14 games.

Gregori beat Downey 4-1 on Monday to sweep the series and clinch the MMC’s No. 2 playoff seed.

The Jaguars are headed back to the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason for a fourth consecutive year, and they’re following Vandemark’s lead.

Vandemark is hitting .354 and fulfilling the obligation of a leadoff hitter, which is: Get on base … any way possible.

“I think it’s very important because it gives us good mojo,” said Vandemark, who also plays a clean center field (no errors in 45 chances). “I think it helps those behind me. Gives them good vibes.‘Oh, he got on base (with) no outs; let’s get him in.’ ”

Vandemark is tied for second on the team in hits with 29. He has also drawn 12 walks and been plunked three times. He has scored 25 runs in 26 games and is a team-best 7 for 7 on stolen-base attempts.

Any. Way. Possible.

“As the leadoff batter, I’m trying to see more pitches for the team but also get on base,” he said. “It’s definitely a large responsibility as a junior.”

He’s handled it well.

After making subtle tweaks to his lineup throughout the season, Gregori coach Jim Davis has settled on his top-two hitters: Vandemark and Matt Dallas (.429, 36 hits, four triples), the table-setters.

Like Vandemark, Dallas has moved up in the batting order. He began the season as the No. 3 hitter.

“They’ve done a wonderful job, and that’s the reason why we’ve got those two kids at the top of our lineup,” Davis said. “They set the table for our three, four and five guys. There’s a reason why we’ve got two or three kids in double digits for RBIs in league, and that’s because we got runners on.

“Tyler Vandemark has been outstanding. Matt Dallas has been a great No. 2 hitter. You just feel like the kids are rising to the occasion … like the kids are rising to the challenge.”

In the most important games of the season, Vandemark has produced.

Gregori entered its three-game series with Downey needing to win two to clinch a fourth consecutive playoff berth. Anything less would mean a disappointing end to a season full of promise.

A sweep would give the Jaguars the No. 2 seed, leap-frogging idle Enochs, and a chance to host a first-round game.

While the stakes couldn’t have been much greater, Vandemark kept a cool demeanor and a hot bat.

He was 4 for 8 through the first two games of the series and outscored the Knights, 3-0.

Gregori jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of each game. The Jaguars would cruise to back-to-back shutout victories, clinching a playoff berth with Wednesday’s 10-0 mercy-rule win.

Starter A.J. MacCaughtry credits a quick-strike offense for taking the pressure off an inexperienced pitching staff all season long.

The Jaguars start two juniors – MacCaughtry and Dallas – and sophomore Branden Pasion. Together, the trio is 17-7 in their first varsity season.

“All year, they’ve been table-setters,” said MacCaughtry, 6-1 with a 1.46 ERA after Wednesday’s four-hit, five-inning shutout. “That’s what we’ve needed. It’s easy to pitch when you have a 10-run lead.

“They’ve helped us all year. They’ve been consistent. We just need to keep going and not let our foot off the gas.”

Flipping through the pages of his scorebook, Davis takes note of all the changes.

He loves the new look of his lineup, and he can’t argue the results, either. Entering Monday’s regular-season finale, Gregori had won 18 games – two off the program record of 20 set last spring.

“We are a completely different team,” Davis said. “If you go back and look at our scorebook (at the beginning of the season), you’d see a completely different lineup.

“You do the best you can to put pressure on the defense; to put pressure on the opposing team.”

And for the Jaguars, it starts with Vandemark.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Gregori baseball follows Vandemark’s lead."