The Turlock Christian baseball team is back in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII championship game following a two-game sweep in last week’s best-of-three semifinal series against Big Valley Christian.

The No. 2 Eagles defeated the No. 6 Lions by a 9-4 score in last Tuesday’s opener at Pedretti Park before clinching on the road Thursday with a 14-1 throttling in five innings. Now 17-3 on the season, TC sets its sights to Saturday's championship game at Stockton’s Delta College, a clash between familiar foes.

Opposite of Turlock Christian will be top-seeded Vacaville Christian (18-4), which looks to defend the D-7 title after taking down the Eagles by a 13-2 score in last year’s final. The Falcons punched a ticket to a consecutive title game with an 11-10, 15-5 sweep on Roseville’s Valley Christian last week.

Saturday’s game, which is slated for 1 p.m., represents a chance at redemption not just against the Falcons, but for teams of the previous four years. The contest marks the fourth section title game for the Eagles in the past five years, a run that includes the program's lone blue banner in 2022, and runner-up finishes in 2023 and, of course, last season.

“I’m feeling really good because we’re going in there with the mindset that we don't have anything to lose,” said senior Brayden Small, who led all players with three RBI on two hits in Thursday’s victory. “They beat us last time, so they have all of it to lose. It would be big for us to win and take that.”

The Eagles led for the entirety of Thursday’s contest, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI double from senior Jakobe Garcia and an RBI groundout courtesy of junior Cam Kelley. Small drove in his first run in the second inning with a single. Two more runs scored when the next batter, senior Michael Miller, grounded to the shortstop and induced a fielding and throwing error. Garcia, Winston York, Max Salas, Blake Starn and Brady Worsham followed with consecutive RBI hits.

The 10-0 was extended in the fourth when Small grounded to short and another error was recorded. In the fifth, senior Landon Taylor walked with the bases loaded before Small drove in a pair with a single to right, which capped TC’s scoring.

“It’s the result of lots of batting practice,” Small said of his recent hot streak at the plate. “I’ve been swinging the bat more, not hesitating to take swings. I feel good right now.”

Kelley tossed a complete game, allowing just one run in the fifth innings on four hits and a pair of walks. The TC ace tallied 10 strikeouts, marking the fourth time he has reached double-digit Ks in an outing this season. His record also improved to 6-0 and his ERA dropped to 1.23.

York started on Tuesday to set the tone for the Eagles. After allowing a run in the first inning, he settled in over the next five frames. He gave up just the one earned run on seven hits to improve to 6-1 and lower his ERA to 2.41.

Small took over for the final inning, allowing a two-run home run before eventually retiring the side with one of two strikeouts.

“Every time me and Cam pitch, the defense does really good,” York said. “I feel like we can do anything. We can snag balls in the infield, guys like Brayden have made some great catches on fly balls in the outfield. We’re all very close and have a lot of confidence in each other.

The Eagles rebounded immediately from the Lions’ first-inning run, tying the game in the home half after Miller scored on a wild pitch. Kelley then gave his team the lead with an RBI double. Later in the inning. Starn drove in another run with a single and Kelley scored on a throwing error on the same play. Starn struck again in the third with an RBI double.

Two more runs came across for the Eagle in the fifth via an RBI single off the bat of Garcia and a Kelly sacrifice fly. Starn, another senior, then doubled in a run again in the sixth, while Miller hit a sac-fly for TC’s ninth and final run of the afternoon.

“Knowing that it could be the last game with one another, and the seniors it could be their last game ever, we’re going to be playing our hearts out,” York said.

“This program has had a lot of success in recent years. I got to see my older brothers (Rob and Will) win a lot. Rob won the section title in 2022. It’s really inspiring. I watched Rob wear that championship hat, and I want one too. I’m motivated to get one of those hats. We’re going to try our hardest to make it happen.”