Roundup: Pitman keeps CCAL baseball playoff race close with walk-off win over Gregori

The Central California Athletic League baseball race is as tight as it’s been in recent years.

Turlock picked up a win Wednesday and sits atop the league standings, but the league’s second through fifth spots are up for grabs. Over the next four games, four teams will fight for the league’s final two playoff spots as the 2024 regular season comes to an end.

Pitman High, relatively inexperienced after graduating 15 seniors from last year’s league championship team, is currently that fifth-place team, but a 5-4 walk-off win over second-place Gregori has kept the Pride in the playoff race.

Pride coach Andy Walker said just three players returned from last year’s team, but all of the guys getting their first varsity playing time have embraced their new roles.

“We have a lot of new guys but they have proven all year that when they play good baseball, they’re capable of hanging with anybody,” Walker said. “It’s a matter of us doing that consistently.”

Pitman opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first and Gregori responded with a run in the top of the second. Each team traded two runs in the fifth inning and headed into the seventh with a 3-3 tie.

With one out in the top of the seventh inning, Izaia Perez sent a single to center field. One batter later, Xander Martinez drove him in with a double to give Gregori a one-run lead. The Jaguars were looking to maintain second place in the CCAL and secure a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive league. After Turlock (9-2 CCAL), Gregori (6-4), Enochs (6-5), Downey (6-5) and Pitman (5-5) are all in the hunt for the league’s final two playoff spots.

“That’s a credit to the coaches across the board,” Gregori coach James Davis said of the tight race for a postseason berth. “Everybody puts in the time with their kids and takes it seriously and the kids buy in and work hard. There’s so much parity in our league, which is a good thing.”

Pitman came up in the bottom half and got two on with a one-out walk and a single. Gregori got the second out of the inning via a lineout, but the top of Pitman’s lineup came through. Senior Daniel Mazon singled, scoring Ryder Scott, and two batters later with the bases loaded, Alejandro Trujillo put the ball in play, scoring Kolten Pruitt to win the game.

“A win is a win and this league right now is a dogfight,” Walker said. “You’ll take them any way you can and hopefully if anything, it just gives our kids a little momentum going into the Friday game. Our goal every week is to win the series, so we put ourselves in position to do that.”

Baseball

Big Valley Christian 6, Riverbank 2: Sophomore Brady Heinrich drove in a pair of runs, and Alex Avila and Mason Baliel each added one RBI to help the Lions secure a non-league win. Heinrich pitched the full seven innings, allowing just a pair of hits and striking out nine.

Ceres 6, Davis 2: Vincent Castrejon and Kyan Bowen each drove in two runs for the Bulldogs, who picked up their first win of a two-game series against Davis. The Spartans, who are hoping to play their way into the playoffs, scored a run in the third and fifth innings.

Pitman 5, Gregori 4: An Alejandro Trujillo ground ball with the bases loaded brought in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Pitman the walk-off win in the second game of the series. It was the second run the Pride scored in the final frame as Daniel Mazon knocked in Ryder Scott earlier in the inning to tie the game at 4-4. Xander Martinez Trinity Beland and Andre Rivera Jr. drove in runs for Gregori, the CCAL’s second-place team. The series is tied at one game apiece with the rubber match Friday.

Beyer 10, Johansen 6: Beyer won its sixth Western Athletic Conference game Wednesday with its 10-run outing against Johansen. The Patriots have won two straight games, scoring 10 runs in each. They look to sweep the season series Friday at home.

Turlock 13, Modesto 1: The Bulldogs earned their fourth straight Central California Athletic League victory, beating the Panthers for the second time in as many games in 2024. Turlock holds firm on the league’s top spot and looks to sweep the season series Friday.

Oakdale 11, Sierra 7: Oakdale, the Valley Oak League No. 1 team, picked up its eighth straight win this season. The Mustangs are an impressive 21-5 with just two games left in the regular season. They finish the series against Sierra at home Friday and play El Capitan May 1.

Enochs 1, Downey 0: Enochs took the season series against Downey with its second one-run win over the Knights. University of San Francisco signee Kannon Sharpe drove in the game’s only run in the first inning of the pitchers duel. Nicholas Poulus pitched the complete game, giving up a pair of hits and striking out six. The two teams play out the final game of the series Friday.

Central Catholic 7, Manteca 6 (8): Clemson signee TP Wentworth singled in the bottom of the eighth to walk it off for the Raiders, scoring Trace Hernandez. Catcher Fernado Alaniz also drove in a pair of runs. Central Catholic can maintain second place in the VOL by winning the series-clinching game Friday at Manteca High.

Ripon Christian 22, Waterford 1: An 11-run second inning propelled the Knights to their ninth Southern League win this season. Nine players recorded a hit, led by Luke Crivello’s 4-for-4 day. He was one of three players to record three RBI.

Softball

Patterson 10, Merced 6: Kayla Ortiz led Patterson to victory with a pair of hits with a double and drove in four runs. Elizabeth Zavala added a double of her own and a pair of RBI. The Tigers have won five straight CCC contests and sit second in the league.

Riverbank 11, Escalon 6: The Bruins scored a combined nine runs in the second and third innings to break open the game. Maya Guzman had two hits with a home run and drove in five runs. Ariana Spears went a perfect 4-for-4 for the Riverbank team looking to return to the playoffs with four regular season games left.

Ripon 8, Hughson 0: San Francisco State signee Kharime Caratachea continued her dominance in the circle for Ripon, striking out 15 batters and recording yet another shutout. On offense, sophomores Addison Naranjo and Izabelle Spurzem each drove in a pair of runs.

Livingston 8, Hilmar 5: Livingston junior Elizabeth Avila drove in five runs, providing nearly all of the offense for the Wolves against Hilmar. The Yellowjackets went ahead 5-4 after scoring a run in the top of the sixth, but allowed four runs in the bottom of the inning, which ended up being the deciding factor.