Win slips past Enochs as Turlock takes Game 3 of CCAL series in extra innings

Friday will go down as the day Enochs let one get away.

The Eagles were tied with Central California Athletic League leader Turlock High 0-0 heading into extra innings, but they could not find their stride.

In the top of the eighth inning, they gave up four runs to the Bulldogs and could not produce a game-saving rally in the bottom half as they fell to Turlock 4-0, dropping the season series 2-1.

Enochs was looking to move up from fifth in the league standings by taking down a Turlock team that won both of its first two CCAL series. The Eagles won the first game, 5-4, and went ahead by four runs after two innings in Game 2. Turlock scored six unanswered runs Wednesday to win the second matchup 6-4 setting up a key Friday afternoon series finale.

“The more they’re involved in games like this, the more they’re going to get used to games like this,” Enochs coach Haig Shahbazian said. “You could feel the tenseness throughout the game. I don’t think anybody wanted to be the person to make a mistake or or let something happen. … I think as they continue to compete and continue to get used to these situations, they’re only going to get better.”

University of San Francisco signee and Enochs pitcher Kannon Sharpe and Turlock’s Mason Baker traded shutout outings throughout the game. Sharpe and the Enochs defense maneuvered through the top half of the first seven innings without giving up a run and Baker and the Bulldogs answered, producing three outs without allowing a score.

Sharpe pitched 7.2 innings and struck out six batters. He gave up nine hits and three runs in the final inning, one was earned.

“These are the types of games that you really have to love baseball to play in,” Sharpe said. “It’s going to be close, you’re gonna go back and forth. Someone’s gonna say something, you’re gonna say something back, and it’s gonna come down to whatever team can execute better. Today, that wasn’t us. But like I said, this is a game where you just have to love the game.”

Deja Vu for Turlock

It was deja vu for the Bulldogs. For the second week in a row, if they wanted to win a CCAL series to keep their first place spot, they would need to win two straight games.

Last week, Turlock dropped Game 1 on the road to Downey, but came back to win the three-game series. After Enochs took the first game, the Bulldogs rebounded Wednesday and took the series Friday.

Baker held his own in Friday’s pitchers duel and the defense behind him put on a masterclass. He pitched seven shutout innings with six strikeouts and walked just three batters. Turlock’s defense did not commit an error.

The offense was held at bay until the eighth inning. Carter Crivelli started the inning with a leadoff double and advanced to third on a groundout. With two outs, Crivelli scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Owen Miller doubled and his courtesy runner, Chris Allerton, scored in the next at bat. Two more Bulldogs runs crossed the plate before Enochs got out of the inning.

“Mason and Sharpe threw their butts off. It was a great performance and coaching-wise you sit back and it’s like this is a good game,” Turlock coach Mike Souza said. “It’s hard for one of the players to lose especially the way it happened, but for our side it’s like we finally got a break that we’ve been needing.”

Andrew Sevilla entered in the bottom of the eighth inning in relief and retired the only three Eagles batters he faced in order to secure the win. Turlock remains atop the CCAL standings. Friday’s win was the Bulldogs’ seventh league win this season. They have two league series remaining, taking on Modesto next week and crosstown rival Pitman in their regular season finale.

“Our motivation and our momentum right now is going in the right direction,” Souza said. “Hopefully we keep on riding it.”

‘Must win’ games for Enochs ahead

Sharpe is looking to do something he has never done before: lead Enochs to the playoffs.

The Eagles have not qualified for the postseason since 2016. That season they finished third in the Modesto Metro Conference and bowed out in the first round of the Division I playoffs.

In Sharpe’s two full varsity seasons, the Eagles finished fifth in 2022 and 2023. The Eagles finished the shortened spring 2021 season 12-3 but there were no playoffs.

“It’s always been my dream to pitch in a playoff game, to have that atmosphere,” Sharpe said. “You want to go out there and win a game for your guys and show a lot of other teams that haven’t seen you all year, what you can do and what you’re made of. For me to be able to experience that and possibly pitch in a playoff game this year would just be icing on the cake for me.”

The Eagles don’t have much time to turn their dream of making their journey to their first playoff appearance in eight seasons to reality. The regular season concludes with two league series over the next two weeks. They play Downey April 22-26 and Modesto High April 29-May 3. The Knights will be fighting to maintain second in the league standings.

“Every game is important, but now it’s just double time. Every game is a must-win situation,” Shahbazian said. “It’s do or die every game and if we get a little help here and there, which is very possible in our league, who knows where things might end up.”