Manteca High suffered a 5-0 non-league loss to Pitman on Friday.
The Buffaloes couldn’t manage much at the plate, scratching out three hits against the visiting Pride of Turlock.
“That’s a good team,” said Manteca coach Mark Ruiz. “They had good pitching and played great defense.” 
Manteca (3-3) had some good cuts at bat only to see the ball gobbled up the Pitman defense.
Evident of that occurred in the first inning.
Sonny Elder led off with a double to center followed by Nathan Gutierrez’s walk. Both advanced on a passed ball.
Pride third baseman Jorge Ramos then turned a line-drive into an unassisted double play.
That was one of three double plays turned in by Pitman (2-1) on this cold and blustery afternoon.
The Pride jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first.
Bryson Partida, who opened the game with a single to right, swiped second and eventually came home on Anthony Tullio’s run-scoring hit to center.
Tullio, a junior first baseman for Pitman, went 3-4 at the plate with two RBI.
Chase Gilbreth, the starting pitcher for the Pride, overcame a shaky start by setting down the next 12 batters in order.
“It’s tough to win when you can’t score runs,” Ruiz said.
The Buffaloes gave up an unearned run in the fifth. Mateo Garcia, who opened the inning with a walk, scored on a two-out wild pitch to give his team at 2-0 lead.
Ryan Ward, Manteca’s ace hurler, kept the game close with a solid pitching performance. He allowed three hits, issued three walks, and fanned five.
“Ryan kept us in the game,” Ruiz added.
The Buffaloes unraveled in the seventh by surrendering three runs on three hits, a walk and a pair of errors.
Manteca opened the bottom of the inning by getting a runner on board. But that was subsequently erased with one last double play by Pitman.
Rafael Diaz was the top hitter for the Buffaloes, going 2 for 3.
Ruiz is hoping to see bounce back next week in a pair of non-league games against Ceres.