Justin Dias insisted on pitching East Union’s sophomore baseball game against Sierra Tuesday at Agostini Field, and he came through.

Dias struck out six and walked two in his one-hitter, leading the Squires’ 11-1, five-inning victory.

“Justin is usually our Thursday guy, but he wanted the ball today and was superb,” East Union coach Mike James said.

East Union (9-6 Valley Oak League, 12-8 overall) helped its pitcher offensively by doling out 13 hits, with Colby Seibel and Tee Jay Gordon doing a lot of the damage.

“We didn’t show up,” said Sierra coach Greg Wilson, whose team fell to 8-5 in conference play. “We didn’t make any adjustments, but their pitcher did a great job.”

The season finale will be at Sierra Thursday.

Brock Swift struck out 13 batters and hammered two doubles at the plate to lead East Union (7-5) to victory.
John Olague was 3 for 3, and Josh Bonds hit 2 for 4 with a double and three steals.

In Lathrop, the host Spartans was led by Jared Weiler’s 2-for-3 effort that included a steal and a run. Donell Tucker and Ricky Horrocks each chipped in a base hit.