The Turlock and Pitman high school baseball programs are off to winning starts in the Central California, as the Bulldogs capped off a sweep of Gregori and the Pride split the final two games of their series with Enochs on Friday.
The Bulldogs held the Jaguars to one run in each of the last two games of their opening series to get off to a 3-0 start in CCAL play.
In Wednesday’s 7-1 road win, senior Owen McCord had a bases-clearing triple in the fourth inning to give Turlock a 5-1 lead. Juniors Aiden De Los Santos and Mason Hackler also had RBIs in the five-run inning. Senior Adam Torres tripled in the seventh run of the contest in the fifth.
On the mound, Hackler tossed a one-hit complete game with eight strikeouts, his only blemishes coming in the first inning, where he surrendered an RBI single.
Friday, junior Braydon Keyler tossed the third complete game victory for the Bulldogs in the series en route to a 3-1 win. He struck out 10 while allowing just the one run on six hits and a walk.
As Keyler spun a gem, it took the Bulldogs until the fifth inning to finally break the scoreless tie, with De Los Santos driving in senior Cooper Pacheco, who was hit by a pitch. Keyler followed by giving himself some valuable insurance with an RBI to left field, while McCord scurried home for the third and final run on the throw into second.
Pitman clinched the series victory Wednesday on the road against the Enochs, holding on for an 8-7 win.
The Pride never trailed, with junior Cole Kelley getting them on the board with a two-run single in the first frame. The Eagles got the two runs back in the second and third innings, but the Pride responded quickly in the fourth with an RBI hit from senior Nolan Walker. Fellow senior Julian Jacinto soon came across home plate on a passed ball.
The floodgates opened in the sixth with two-run doubles from Kelley and senior Jackson Way. The Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh before Walker came on in relief and extinguished the threat.
Walker had a quick turnaround, getting the start in Friday’s finale back in Turlock, a 5-0 loss. Walker was tagged for three runs in the first two innings. The Eagles scored two more runs in the fifth as their starter, Javin Randhawa tossed a complete game shutout, punching out five in the process.
The two-time defending conference champion Bulldogs will begin a three-game set on the road Monday against Downey High (3-0). The Pride, now 2-1, will also begin their next series on the road against Modesto High, who were swept by the Knights this week.