Turlock High’s record-breaking consecutive win streak has been extended to 19 games after back-to-back victories against rival Pitman High on Wednesday and Friday. The Bulldogs shutout the Pride in both matchups—9-0 on Wednesday and 8-0 on Friday— with the help of ace hurlers Nick Voumard and Tyler Murphy, maintaining their undefeated status in the Central California Conference.
“Both of them pitched very well. They got ahead in the count and were able to throw their off speed stuff for strikes,” Turlock’s head coach Mark de la Motte said. “It’s just great to finish the first two rounds of league 10-0. We haven’t done that before, so we need to keep the foot on the gas pedal and try to keep playing well and getting better.”
Both pitchers threw complete games and threw 10 strikeouts from the hill with Voumard allowing four hits and Murphy allowing only two.
“We want them really strong at the end of the season. We’re just building up their endurance right now,” de la Motte said of the two. “We’re real fortunate to have them.”
On Friday, the Bulldogs (19-1 Overall, 10-0 CCC) capitalized on Pride (11-9-1 Overall, 5-5 CCC) errors and inconsistencies to score the majority of their runs. Turlock’s first two runs came in the first and second innings when Cameron Matsumura and Austin Bush respectively crossed the plate on pass balls. Pitman’s pitching troubles continued as five of Turlock’s next six runs were notched with two outs on the board.
“We’ve been able to take advantage of the breaks we’ve been given; our offense is pretty consistent,” de la Motte said.
Bush, Voumard, and Darren Trainor each hit an RBI in the third inning. Voumard notched another RBI in the fifth inning when Murphy crossed on a sacrifice fly which was followed by a Gavin Gaffaney RBI double. Turlock’s final run came in the sixth inning when Adam Groesbeck stepped across home plate on a Cody McGarry RBI sacrifice fly.
Wednesday saw the Bulldogs score runs in bunches with three coming in the third inning and six coming in the sixth inning. Sans pitching duty, Murphy hit three RBIs while Voumard recorded two RBIs and Luis Mendez, Brett Cumberland, Bush, and Groesbeck hit one RBI each.
“We’ve been working hard all year and everything’s coming together right now,” Murphy said. “We want to stay with what we’re doing and win league.”
Turlock now looks to continue its winning ways in today’s Dick Windemuth Championship game against Escalon High before beginning the final round of CCC play against Buhach Colony High on Wednesday.
“Most important is winning league, that’s our main goal,” de la Motte said. “The post-season takes care of itself if you win conference.”
Today’s game will be held at Downey High and is set to begin at 1 p.m. If Turlock wins it will be its second tournament championship this season.
