Manteca got six runners on base in the first three innings Friday at Sierra but only had one run to show for it.
That all changed in a six-run fourth inning due in part to Devon Richardson’s three-run home run, and the Buffaloes never looked back in a 12-3 win in Valley Oak League baseball action at Jack Thomson Stadium.
“They kept us off balance those first few innings pretty well,” Manteca coach Mark Ruiz said. “Their pitcher did a good job of locating pitches, and we took a couple of called third strikes, something we are not used to doing.
“I think we had to get settled in a little bit, and then it was nice to get the bats going again. We stuck to our game plan and got after it.”
Jimmy Burns went the first six innings on the mound for Manteca (3-0 VOL, 9-0 overall), striking out six while walking one with four hits and yielding two unearned runs. Burns belted two doubles and scored two runs, knocking in one.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Burns said. “I just told myself to stay within myself and work with my team. It wasn’t me versus them, it was a team effort.
“I felt pretty good at the plate, too. The past few games have been up and down trying to find my swing and stay consistent. I told myself to stay relaxed, smooth and to hit something hard.”
With one out and one across in the fourth off the bat of Nate Slikker (3 for 4, home run, two RBI, three runs) that scored Noah Navarro, Richardson blasted his three-run shot, scoring Brody Carabello and Slikker to make the score 5-1.
“I felt really good today,” Richardson said. “I worked on my swing a little bit yesterday to make sure my mechanics were right for today, and at-bat today it felt like tunnel vision.
“It felt going into that at-bat when I got the home run, my timing felt good and I got all of that ball.”
With two home runs so far in the series this week, Slikker made it one in all three games when he led off the three-run seventh with a solo shot, making the score 10-3.
“First, I want to give all the glory to God because he makes everything great,” Slikker said. “We started off a little rocky and we didn’t come out with the energy we wanted to.
“But it picked up once the big guy (Richardson) put his bat on the ball and let it fly. That’s when the energy picked up. We kind of rallied off Devon, which is really good, because we have done that a lot this season and last season too. It was really big to get the sweep against them this year.”
Ryan Reyes led off the second for the Timberwolves (0-3, 4-5) with a single and came around to score on an error off the bat of Cole Martin for the game’s first run. C.J. Simas doubled to lead off the Sierra sixth, scoring on a passed ball. Brody Kossart singled to start the seventh for the Timberwolves and scored the game’s final run on a wild pitch.
Riley Kane started on the mound for Sierra, pitching into the fourth inning and came out after Richardson’s home run.
“There weren’t many bright spots, but one was Riley Kane getting his first start of the year,” Timberwolves coach Travis Thomson said. “He came out late from basketball, and he has had to overcome a lot. He threw a lot of big pitches in those first couple of innings, a little inconsistent with some strikes and balls, and those hitters came around the second and third time through the order.
“But we did nothing defensively and very little offensively to help him. At one point, he got two outs in six pitches and then we misplayed a ball and walked two guys, and all of a sudden it was a 30-pitch inning. We have to do better with the small things.”
On Monday, the Buffaloes travel to John Thurman Field to face Central Catholic at a time to be determined. At 3:30 p.m., Sierra hosts Mountain House.
