LATHROP — A 10-run fourth inning from No. 2 Vacaville Christian put top-seeded Turlock Christian in too deep of a hole to climb out of Tuesday, as the Eagles lost 13-2 in five innings in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII championship game at Islanders Field in Lathrop.
Tuesday’s game marked the Eagles’ third trip to the section title game in the past four years, but they have yet to add to the blue banner they collected in 2022, which remains the only one won in school history.
The Eagles never held a lead in the game, but had an early answer for the Falcons, who jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning on an Isaac Stanley RBI single. In the bottom half of the frame, sophomore Cam Kelly singled in junior Michael Miller, who led the game off with an infield hit. Another VC came across in the third inning when a fly ball off the bat of Stanley glanced off the glove of center fielder Braden Small.
Trailing 2-1, the Eagles couldn’t respond in the third before the floodgates were opened in the fourth.
After a leadoff walk, starting pitcher Blake Starn was pulled in favor of Kelley, who has dominated in his role as a long reliever for the Eagles, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.93 ERA in 11 relief outings heading into Tuesday. But Kelley allowed the first seven batters to reach — two walks, three hits, two hit batsmen — which led to five runs before finally recording an out. But the Falcons weren’t finished, scoring five more times on three more base hits before the side was finally retired.
Turlock Christian head coach Bill York felt that there was a bit of an inconsistent strike zone from the home plate umpire.
“The strike zone was a little elusive in that one inning. I didn't see our catcher's glove moving as much as their catcher's glove was moving on some pitches,” York said. “Our game plan actually was to throw inside today, and (Kelley) was hitting his target, we just weren't getting the calls. In high school, unfortunately, a lot of guys don't throw inside, so I think it catches umpires off guard sometimes, but not making any excuses.”
York described the nearly 40-minute inning as a learning experience for Kelley.
“Cam, who's been so steady for us all year, he'll learn from that, and he's going to be better next time out.”
The Eagles went quietly in the bottom half of the inning, while the Falcons added another run via a Liam Varty RBI double to make it a 13-1 game.
In their last crack at cutting the deficit within 10 runs and extending the contest, Miller raced around the bases for a stand-up triple and scored on a sac-fly by the next batter, sophomore Winston York. Junior Jake Dein then reached on an infield single and advanced on a balk before a strikeout ended the game.
“I'm super proud of them playing hard through that, and just playing at the level that they did again all season, especially being a younger team,” York said.
The Eagles achieved a 16-6 record this season.
Although still a tough pill to swallow, York expressed optimism about the program’s future considering not a single player on his roster of
“I’ve been trying to tell them, we're building on something here,” he said. “Obviously, we're here, we might as well try to win it, but it didn't go our way, And you know what? That's one of the lessons that baseball will give you, it’s that there are a lot of times where you come up short. But you always have that next pitch, that next game. How can I improve so these guys will be ready to come out, firing on all cylinders?
“I see that upward trajectory, absolutely. The experience of just doing it and being here three in four years, but it really puts us in a good position in the future. Of course, we still have to perform, but I like our chances.”
