Trailing No. 7 McClatchy 5-4 heading into the seventh inning in Wednesday’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff opener, No. 10 Turlock turned to a handful of staples of their program to try to extend their season.
And they delivered.
The two-time, defending Central California Athletic League champion Bulldogs (20-6-1) put up three runs in the seventh against the Lions (22-7) and eventually held on for an 8-6 to advance to the quarterfinal round, where they’ll be on the road to face No. 2 Rocklin (23-5) on Friday at 4 p.m. The Thunder survived an upset bid from a familiar CCAL program in No. 15 Gregori on Wednesday, squeaking out a 6-4 win.
Sparking Turlock’s rally was junior Adam Torres, who led off the inning with a pinch-hit single. Senior Brady Faria reached base with a single of his own three pitches later to set the table for four-year varsity standout Josh Ramirez, who tied the game at five run apiece with a line drive hit up the middle.
The Bulldogs took the lead when senior Jaron Rocha, the team’s ace pitcher who threw into the seventh inning Wednesday, singled to load the bases before a wild pitch scored Faria and a groundout off the bat of junior Cooper Pacheco made it a 7-5 game. The eighth run scored on an RBI single by sophomore Mason Hackler.
At 99 pitches, Rocha returned to the mound looking to close out the Lions’ season, but was pulled after a seven-pitch battle with leadoff hitter Ryan Sandmeier ended in a walk. In came senior Andrew Sevilla, the Bulldogs’ regular No. 2 pitcher in the rotation, for the save. Sevilla gave up a single to Diego DiFiore and induced a popout before the defensive play of the season came courtesy of sophomore Cameron Henard.
With just the one out and the two runners in scoring position, Sevilla gave up another. Sandmeier scored easily while DiFiore hustled around third trying to cut the deficit to one. But Henard was quick to the ball, firing in a throw to Rocha at third base who then nabbed DiFiore at the plate to drain any remaining momentum McClatchy may have had. Sevilla shut the door on the Lions’ season with a groundout.
It was Sevilla’s first save of the season. His ERA stood at 1.80 at game’s end.
Turlock trailed for most of the contest, with Rocha giving up a run in the first frame and another three in the second to put the Bulldogs in a 4-0 hole. It was par for the course for McClatchy, who posted a team batting average of .308 and team OPS of .857 this season.
But the Bulldogs chipped away, getting on the board in the fourth with a solo home run from Ramirez, his second of the year. Ramirez came up clutch again in the fifth, scoring Faria and Henard on a two-run double to make it a 4-3 game. He came around to score four pitches later when Rocha slapped a single to left field.
Ramirez will enter Friday with 23 hits (seven XBH), 15 RBI and a .724 OPS on the season.
The Lions answered back to retake the lead, 5-4, in the fifth on a sacrifice-fly before the eventful seventh inning.
Rocha earned the win, pushing his record to 6-1. The right-hander’s ERA slightly increased to 1.88 in his 44 2/3 innings over nine appearances, while his three punchouts on the afternoon raised his season total to 46, tied for most of the club with No. 3 starter and fellow senior Dutch Lawrence.
