STOCKTON – A frustrating night ended on a high note for Heritage senior Tom Rover, as the Nevada-bound infielder came through with an infield single in the bottom of the eighth inning to down Oak Ridge, 4-3, in a game that was largely a pitcher’s duel during the nightcap of the Banner Island Showcase.
Rover’s night at the plate began with a pair of strikeouts against Oak Ridge starter Nathan Hansen, but the situation was vastly different when he faced reliever Will Crookham with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth. This time, Rover hit one up the middle on a 0-1 count, and Brayden Sample was able to score from third with the winning run.
Just one inning earlier, it had appeared that Heritage was on its way to a solid victory without any late theatrics. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth had given the Patriots a 3-1 lead, but starting pitcher Ryan Jackson had to leave the mound after reaching his maximum pitch count. Jackson struck out 12 in six innings, and was relieved by Jeff Heinrich in the top of the seventh. Heinrich struck out the first batter he faced, but then allowed a single and hit a batter, which resulted in another pitching change.
Reece Dexter relieved Heinrich, and after issuing a one-out walk to load the bases, induced a fly ball to center field which resulted in a two-run error and a tie game. A strikeout and fly out escaped further damage.
The Patriots had taken their two-run lead thanks largely to the efforts of junior Ryan Troye. With one out and Devyn Douglas standing on second base following a wild pitch, Troye singled to center, scoring Douglas to put Heritage in front. Troye advanced to second on the throw home, and after advancing to third on a wild pitch, stole home to give the Patriots the two-run cushion which they handed back in the next frame.
“Ryan (Troye) came up real big for us, with a huge performance at a clutch moment,” said Heritage coach Kevin Brannan.
Heritage took an early 1-0 lead in the game, when Chaz Myers was able to score on Keith Jones’ fly out to center field in the bottom of the first, but Oak Ridge tied things back up in the top of the second, when Crookham’s fly ball to right was deep enough to score Peter Hansen. From there, both starting pitchers dominated play.
Jackson allowed just four hits and one walk to go with the 12 strikeouts, while Nathan Hansen struck out nine and allowed just three hits for the Trojans. Dexter picked up the win in relief for the Patriots, striking out three in one and two-thirds innings.
Granada routs Patterson
The late-morning game at Banner Island was all Granada, as the Matadors used a one-hit outing from Ethan James to blank Patterson, 10-0, in a mercy-rule shortened game.
James struck out five in four and one-third innings, while Granada got multi-hit performances from Kobe Cortez, Mason Eastman and Colby Martin. Cortez went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs, while Cameron Schrader added a solo blast.
Mulhern pitches Tracy past Monte Vista
Fans at Banner Island in the mid-afternoon were treated to a solid pitching performance from Tracy’s Kyle Mulhern, who allowed just three hits and one run over five innings to lift the Bulldogs to a 4-1 win over Monte Vista.
All of the runs in the game were scored during the fourth inning. Monte Vista took a 1-0 lead on Brandon Yan’s one-out double, which scored Sean Pirouz, who had singled to lead off the inning. Mulhern escaped further damage when Yan was caught stealing.
Tracy responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back singles, combined with a passed ball, put runners on the corners, which allowed Ryan Dzoan to score the tying run on a ground ball to second base. Robert Crivello then laid down a bunt single, which scored Chase Henderson for a 2-1 Bulldog lead. Devin Williams and Octavio Martinez each later delivered two-out RBI singles to cap the big inning.
Dixon powers Berkeley past El Capitan
Senior outfielder Michael Dixon drove in pair of runs with his sixth-inning triple, his second hit of the game, helping propel Berkeley to the 5-1 victory over El Capitan on Saturday evening at Banner Island.
Conner Henritzy also had a pair of hits for the Yellowjackets, while Luke Mager added a key sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning. Noah Millikan earned the win for Berkeley, striking out six in five innings on the hill. Jacob Reyes had two hits in the loss for El Capitan.
Foothill cruises past Lodi
Foothill was never challenged in the morning game at Banner Island, scoring five times in the bottom of the fourth inning and cruising to the 11-1 victory over Lodi.
The Falcons got three hits and three RBIs from junior Justin Durflinger, while Matt Sugden and Ryan Stemplinger each drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore Matt Ager allowed just two hits and struck out six in five innings on the mound to earn the win.
