The Bulldogs didn’t like the idea of sharing.

On Monday afternoon at Mark de la Motte Field, the Turlock High varsity baseball team celebrated their second straight Central California Athletic League championship after a 4-2 win over Downey, a program that entered the contest with a chance to end the year in a tie with the Bulldogs atop the standings. Turlock needed just one win in the three-game series to secure an outright title.

“Let’s get it in Game 1. That was the message to the guys,” said Turlock skipper Mike Souza. “We didn’t want to have any hiccups or anything like that, so the message was to get it out of the way now.”

The Bulldogs improved to 12-1 against conference opponents, while the Knights dropped to 8-5, mathematically eliminating them from title contention, though they remain in the hunt for a postseason spot, tied with Gregori.

Monday’s game between the Bulldogs and Knights was a back-and-forth affair early on before ace Jaron Rocha buckled down and held the Modesto team scoreless through the final five frames.

Rocha was tagged for two runs early. In the first inning, following a leadoff double by Julian Masani, the right-hander gave up a two-bagger to Gus Cervantes to give the Knights and early 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs responded immediately in the home half, with senior Josh Ramirez leading off with a single, junior Cooper Pacheco walking, and both racing home on a double to deep center off the bat of senior Andrew Sevilla. It was the third baseman’s 20th knock of the year, as well as his 11th and 12th RBIs.

After each lineup went quietly in the second inning, Downey threatened by loading the bases with no outs in the third. But Rocha limited the damage, allowing just one run to score as he forced Andre Flores to ground into a double play before escaping the inning with another groundout.

With the game tied at two, Rocha helped his own cause by walking in the bottom half of the inning, stealing second and scoring on a single by Pacheco. And they never looked back. While Rocha didn’t allow any baserunners past second base for the remainder of the game, Turlock received a timely insurance run on a sac-fly by Cameron Henard in the sixth.

“I was just looking for a pitch to hit,” Pacheco said of his go-ahead hit. “I knew (pitcher Jayceon Sloan) was throwing a lot of fastballs, so that was the approach, and I got one in the zone.”

Souza praised Pacheco for his contributions over the year, batting third in the team’s long lineup despite being just a junior. The first baseman leads the team in hits (24), batting average (.343), is second in RBI (15) and third in on-base percentage (.420) and slugging (.429).

“He’s been confident all year,” Souza said. “He's been hitting the ball well for us. You know, as a junior hitting in the three spot, it's not easy, but he’s been competing, putting the ball in play, and hasn't struck out that much. And that's the big thing, putting the ball in play, and that’s what he did today. That was a big clutch hit.”

Souza also noted that his team’s energy on the field seemed a bit low early on, perhaps because of a long weekend competing at the Central Coast Baseball Classic in San Luis Obispo. But it was Rocha that picked his teammates up, consistently letting out his trademark scream towards his dugout after each inning.

Down 3-2, Downey had baserunners on the corners in the fourth inning with two outs, but a double-steal attempt was snuffed out early by Rocha, who ran towards the dancing baserunner between first and second before firing a bullet to senior catcher Jadon Boyer to beat the runner by multiple steps.

The Knights continued threatening in the fifth, with Rocha allowing a leadoff single and Masani sending a deep fly ball to center field. Masani’s towering ball was snagged by a leaping Landyn Fitzgerald, though, who then fired in a strike back to first to double up the runner who had taken off to round third and head home. It seemed as if the ball would drop, but Turlock’s star wide receiver on the gridiron had different plans. Souza described the play as a “game-changer.” Rocha carried that momentum into the next at-bat, where he earned a strikeout that prompted another roar of emotion.

In the sixth inning, Rocha struck out the side. In the seventh, he forced a groundout to lead off the frame, but the next batter reached on an error. Facing the dangerous Masani, he then snagged a comeback grounder, starting a game-ending 1-4-3 double play.

Rocha felt as if his tempo had a significant impact on the day’s success.

“Today, I just felt more energized and more ready to go, and I was going faster,” Rocha said, sporting a fresh championship t-shirt provided to each of the players. “I've always been wanting to work faster and just have more tempo and those strikes and have a better outing overall. I know that it throws hitters off and whatnot. It all just felt good today.”

The outing was Rocha’s fifth win of the year, allowing the two runs on eight hits and no walks while punching out seven. He finished his regular season with a 5-1 record and a 1.09 ERA in 38 2/3 innings over 8 appearances, and posted a 43:10 strikeout to walk ratio.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said of winning a consecutive league title. “Winning it one last year, and to go back-to-back is a great feeling.”

The series continues from Downey High on Wednesday before returning to their home ballfield to wrap up the regular season Friday. All games are slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch. On Saturday, they’ll wait for CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets to be released.

“We have to finish. We got to finish the series,” Souza said. “Downey still wants to beat us because they still want to be bound for playoffs. And for us, we can't let up because we have to keep competing so we get a little higher seed. I told them, ‘If we lose the next two games, who knows what happens.’”

Pitman back in win column

After heading into spring break on a seven-game losing streak against CCAL opponents, the Pitman baseball program finally nabbed a win, 15-1, against Modesto in five innings on Monday.

The Pride are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, sporting a 4-9 record against conference opponents and a 9-15 overall record. The Panthers, meanwhile, remained winless in CCAL play through 13 games and dropped to 3-20-1 overall.

All but two batters in the Pride’s starting lineup nabbed a hit, with the other two reaching base on walks. Blake Rose and Jackson Way each led the way with three hits on the afternoon, with Rose driving in three runs and Way four. Elias Mendez also nabbed a pair of hits and had three RBI.

On the bump Alberto Salazar tossed a complete game, surrendering three hits and striking out seven. The lone run was unearned as the baserunner reached on an error to start the second inning.

The two teams will go back at it on Wednesday in Modesto before ending the regular season back at the Pitman campus on Friday, both at 4 p.m.