The sophomore outfielder and the rest of the Lancers (16-10) are heating up at the right time.

Fay is riding a nine-game hitting streak and coming off a Valley Oak League series against Kimball in which he went 7 for 9 and reached base 10 times in 12 plate appearances.

“He’s doing a fantastic job the last few weeks,” East Union coach Dan Bauer said of his speedy leadoff batter. “He has really gotten comfortable at this level. He is one of those guys who draws that attention. I’ve told him, ‘The attitude you need to have is that you’re to make teammates love you and opponents hate you,’ and I think that’s come to fruition.”

He was an annoyance to Kimball in the three-game sweep. Fay plated eight runs and drove in five, hit a double and a triple, drew three walks, stole eight bases and left just one base runner stranded.

Also a standout sprinter for EU’s track team in the spring, Fay has swiped 27 bags in all — tied for most in the Manteca area.

“He’s only a sophomore and still trying to perfect the craft of stealing bases, but every game he is getting better and better,” Bauer said. “We’re excited to see what the future holds.”

Fay continued his hot streak on Monday when the Lancers ended the regular season with a make-up game at cross-town rival Manteca, going 2 for 3 with a run. East Union won 4-2 to gain an important tiebreaking edge over the Buffaloes, finishing in third place in the VOL.