The Valley Oak League title was out of reach.
Postseason berths were already clinched.
But don’t tell the Buffaloes of Manteca High that their regular-season finale at Sierra meant nothing.
They will go into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs riding the momentum of a two-game sweep of their rival following Wednesday’s 5-1 victory.
“Going into this game they had a lot of motivation,” Manteca coach Gene Ballardo said. “They wanted the city of Manteca to know that they’re the best team in the city.”
Manteca (8-6 Valley Oak League, 14-9 overall) split with East Union earlier in the season and opened the Sierra series with a resounding 9-4 win on Monday.
Sophomore ace Jacob Corn struck out eight, walked two and scattered five hits in six shutout innings. Sierra’s Mike Leland limited the Buffaloes to an unearned run through five innings before Manteca broke it open late.
Nick VanWarmerdam went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs as Manteca totaled 10 hits. Alex Martinez plated two runs and finished 2 for 4. Danny Gouveia was also 2 for 4, and Buddy Reeder contributed an RBI double.
“What I’m looking for from our guys is to finish out the (regular) season strong,” Ballardo said. “They hit the ball really well, played very good defense and even though Jake wasn’t on his ‘A’ game, but his B-plus was enough.”
VanWarmerdam had a strong effort in a spot start. Batting from the No. 9 spot in the order, he gave the Buffaloes some breathing room in the sixth with his clutch two-run single up the middle. In the seventh, he worked the count full before delivering a two-out RBI single to left.
“He’s real quiet but he works hard. I was happy to see that out of him,” Ballardo said. “He hasn’t been getting a whole lot of at-bats lately but I told him (Tuesday) that he’s getting the start. We want to keep him sharp for the postseason in case we need him in a pinch-hit situation or to start.”
VanWarmerdam was also in on a pivotal defensive play at second base that ended Sierra’s bases-loaded threat in the sixth. After Jason Angelo reached on a bunt single to load the bases, Rodrigo Contreras hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
“Rod hits the ball right on the nose and hits it right at them,” Sierra coach Jack Thomson said. “They did a good job of turning the double play, but if Rod hits it five feet either way it’s 3-2 and we’re still hitting. I feel like we were a little bit snake bit today at times.”
Sierra left nine base runners stranded, six in scoring position. John Waggy drove in the Timberwolves’ lone run in the seventh inning, belting a single past diving third baseman Daniel Miramontes to bring home Joseph Collett.
Thomson goes into the offseason with high hopes for his young Timberwolves who had two sophomores (shortstop/pitcher Dakota Conners, catcher Jake Pruitt) and a freshman (center fielder Ryan Vasquez) starting at key positions all year.
“Our players did a great job this year,” Thomson said. “Twelve and 12, I know that it’s just right where you started but it’s more than I expected. They had great work ethic and they competed. We have a good core group coming back.”
Manteca, meanwhile, begins the postseason May 16 at Tony Zupo Field in Lodi. The Buffs will take on Sierra Valley Conference champion El Dorado (24-2-1).
