The varsity baseball field bleachers at Central Catholic High School in Modesto were filled Friday morning for the opening game of the annual March Madness preseason tournament between the Raiders and the Turlock Bulldogs. Taking up those seats were parents, students, baseball aficionados and, most notably, professional scouts, keeping watchful eyes on Central’s senior southpaw Tyler Paul Wentworth, who has committed to play at Clemson on a full ride.
The 6-5, 235-pound Wentworth handled business against the Bulldogs, tossing three one-hit innings while punching out four, leading the Raiders to a 3-1 victory. But opposite of Wentworth was another senior lefty who has dominated the start of the year — Carson Gonzales, who had a 2-0 record coming into the matchup. As Wentworth dealt, the Turlock ace put together a similarly strong outing, striking out eight and giving up two runs on two and a pair of walks over five innings.
Friday’s matchup was one Gonzales had been hoping for. “I’d like to test my confidence (against Central Catholic),” he said last Wednesday. His confidence seemed to only increase following the game, as his only significant blemish came in the second inning when Trayce Hernandez roped an RBI single. Hernandez came in to score later in the inning, advancing on the basepaths on errors before sprinting home on a sacrifice fly.
“I knew that there would be a lot (of fans and scouts) in the stands. I don't think about that stuff too much. I just play the game,” Gonzales said. “I feel like I did pretty good. I gave up some runs, obviously. Some errors didn’t help, but I feel like it was a solid game overall. I could have done better.”
“Carson wasn't on his A-game,” said Turlock head coach Mike Souza. “He usually throws a slider for a strike anytime, but he was spiking the ball a little bit. Same thing with the curveball. I think he was just a little too amped up or whatever, but he settled down and he still threw a really good game. For it to not be his best stuff, still a really good outing.”
Gonzales also impressed at the plate throughout the weekend. He drove in the Bulldogs’ only run against the Raiders with a sixth-inning double. In their second game of the tournament against Enochs (Modesto) later that day, he had a two-RBI double as they routed the Eagles 15-3 in five innings. He drove in another two in Saturday’s 13-3 victory over the Tokay Tigers (Lodi).
Also emerging as an impact player for the Bulldogs over the two day tournament was junior Andrew Sevilla. The right-hander blasted a two-run home run Friday against Enochs. On Saturday morning against the Tigers, he had three more hits. He also happened to be Turlock’s starting pitcher that day, giving up three runs on three hits and three walks while punching out four in five innings of work
Souza spoke about Sevilla’s development over the past few years, explaining that patience has begun to pay off for the first-year varsity starter.
“We kind of knew coming into JV last year that he can swing the bat well,” Souza said. “We're just trying to find the spot for him now. Basically, if you can hit, you find a spot and that's what he's been doing for us. He’s been hitting, making contact, and he’s been out there playing… For pitching, it's very rare, especially at the varsity level to just be attacking the zone like he did. He’s going to be a big help. And it’s good to see we have a few juniors like him that can take starting roles. They’re just waiting on their opportunities and waiting to grab it.”
Sevilla currently leads the team in batting average (.571) and slugging percentage (1.111).
“The mindset is to just keep working hard,” Sevilla said. “Every opportunity I get, I have to show up. I need to keep working hard in practice and outside of practice.”
Meanwhile, senior Owen Miller and junior Josh Ramirez are currently tied for the team lead in hits with eight apiece through the team’s first seven games.
The Bulldogs are now 5-2 in the young 2024 season and will focus their attention to their next game when they welcome the 2-1-2 Lincoln Trojans (Stockton) to Mark de la Motte Field on Friday at 4 p.m.