Turlock opened its Central California Athletic League schedule in impressive fashion on Monday with an 8-1 victory over Gregori at Mark de la Motte Field.
The teams will meet again today in Modesto at 4 p.m., then play the rubber match of the series at 4 p.m. Thursday in Turlock.
“That wasn’t a bad start to league,” said Bulldogs coach Mike Souza. “We took advantage of some walks and miscues and got some timely hitting. It was good to see.”
Left-handed senior Carson Gonzales was sharp for the Bulldogs, yielding just four hits and a walk while fanning eight in six innings on the bump, but still needed to wiggle out of bases-loaded jams in the fourth and sixth innings.
“He did the same thing to us last year,” said Jaguars coach Jim Davis, searching for his first conference title since 2017, when the Jags went 18-0 and won the now-defunct Modesto Metro Conference. “He kept us off balance and did a great job, throwing strikes and getting ahead. When he did struggle, he refocused and found it again.”
Senior catcher Owen Miller said the outing was Gonzales’ best of the year.
“This is one of the best games I’ve seen him throw,” said Miller. “He was throwing everything for a strike and he didn’t miss spots when needed to throw a ball in the dirt, or inside or outside. He was hitting his spots every time today.”
Gonzales was glad he was able to help the Bulldogs get off to a fast start min the league race.
“We got our swagger back today and it’s definitely a good start for the league season,” said Gonzales. “My fastball and curveball were working well today. That’s all I needed. The curveball was my put-away pitch.”
Offensively for the Bulldogs, Miller led the way, going 2-for-3 with an RBI-double in the first inning and a two-run single in the sixth, while senior center fielder Carter Crivelli was 2-for-4 with a two-run single in the fourth. Junior shortstop Josh Ramirez was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Jaron Rocha and Andrew Sevilla each were 1-for-3 with a run scored.
After wrapping up the Gregori series on Thursday, the Bulldogs will take part in the 16-team Central Coast Baseball Classic to be held at four locations: Paso Robles, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo and Righetti high schools.
The Bulldogs will open against Pleasant Valley (Chico) at 3 p.m. on April 3; then take on Westlake (Westlake Village) at 3 and Paso Robles at 6 on April 4; and close with Amador Valley (Pleasanton) at 10 a.m. on April 5. Turlock will play all of its games at Paso Robles H.S.
Westlake, until last week, was ranked among the state’s Top 10 by Cal-Hi Sports.
“Iron sharpens iron,” said Crivelli about playing in the tournament. “You face the best and you get better.”
