After two very close and competitive games to start the Golden Empire League crosstown clash, the Pioneer High School varsity baseball team exploded for 6 runs in the top of the fifth, leaving no doubt or drama to the outcome of their final game against Woodland High School as they won 10-0.
Friday evening’s chilly game three at Clark Field between the Patriots (7-2, 6-0 GEL) and Wolves (5-4, 3-3 GEL) felt a lot more anti-climatic than Tuesday’s close 6-3 affair or Thursday’s 11-10 walk-off classic. After scoring a massive 6 runs in the top of the fifth, the Patriots slammed the door shut on the Wolves in the bottom of the fifth and won on the 10-run mercy rule.
“It was a good win,” Patriots head coach Craig Marquez said. “I told them on Thursday that we just need to tighten things up. When we throw strikes, don’t make any errors and have good at-bats, it means we’ll likely come out on top. It was great to get a complete game together.”
Pioneer raced out to its customary fast start of late with 2 runs in the top of the first inning, courtesy of none other than Landon Dahler and Thursday’s hero, Sammy Sanchez. Sanchez kicked off the scoring by driving in Dahler before a wild pitch allowed Sanchez to come home from third to make it 2-0.
The Patriots threatened again in the top of the third inning when Damian Garcia reached third base. As he was the starting pitcher, Sanchez came up with two outs to try to help his own cause, but he flew out to left field.
In the top of the fourth, the Patriots doubled their lead after junior Drew Van Court hit a leadoff double to center field. Garcia was then hit by a pitch and took first base. A wild pitch on the next at-bat moved both runners over a base and into scoring position. Then, with two outs and on a full count, Dahler blasted a triple into right field, scoring both Van Court and Garcia to make it 4-0.
“He (Dahler) was awesome this series,” Marquez said. “He is our leadoff man for a reason. He goes as we go. He has a big personality and is great at everything he does. He is a fun kid to coach. He knows how I coach and what we expect out of him.”
The Wolves picked up their first hit in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a Dylan Ramirez single. Woodland freshman shortstop PJ Pinegar then walked to continue a promising inning, but a fly out and ground out soon dampened those aspirations as the temperature and rain began to drop.
Senior Brayden Farnham did walk to load the bases, but the Patriots’ Sammy Sanchez managed to get out of the inning unscathed with a clutch strikeout.
“That (strikeout) was a big one,” Marquez recalled. “Sammy throws strikes and lets his defense work. If the defense works behind him, he is very consistent.”
In the next half-inning, Pioneer scored 6 more runs to go up by 10 and activated the 10-run mercy rule. After the Wolves were shut out in the bottom of the fifth, the game was over and Pioneer left the west side of town with the win.
“It’s interesting; this is still only game nine for us, so we are still trying to figure out our pitching,” Marquez said. “I think we are doing it and finding where our nitch is going forward. Every year, it’s fun to watch the season and the team we will evolve into. They had fun yesterday.”
Up next for the Patriots will be a Monday tournament. In their first game, Pioneer will play Folsom at 9 a.m. and then Union Mine at 12:30 p.m. After that, they will enjoy the rest of the week off before resuming GEL play with a three-game series against Mira Loma, set for Tuesday, April 2, at Rotary Field.
“This tourney will be tough,” Marquez said. “These tournaments are always fun because we are playing some great competition. After that, we have Mira Loma and then Casa Roble in the next two series. I hope we can finish strong and see what happens from there.”
The Wolves will enjoy a week off and then begin a tough three-game series against Dixon, with the first game set for Thursday, April 2 at 4:15 p.m.
