Two days after allowing seven runs in the first inning in an 11-2 loss to East Union, the Manteca Buffaloes flexed their own muscles early on scoring five in the opening inning en-route to a 14-1 victory over the Lancers on Senior Day, tying the series up at 1-1 going into today’s rubber match.
“It feels really nice to take the mound with a five-run lead,” Manteca starting pitcher Jeremy Cross said. “Knowing how big today’s game was, it took a lot of pressure off, and I knew I just needed to make my pitches and let my defense play behind me.”
Manteca (12-5 VOL, 19-8 overall) set the tone early against East Union (11-5, 18-7) starting pitcher Efren Diaz, as sophomore second baseman Brody Carabello hit the third pitch of the game deep over the right field wall to give the Buffaloes the early lead. The long ball from Carabello (3-3, three runs, two RBIs) was the first of seven hits in the inning.
Cross looked comfortable from the start, retiring the Lancers without scoring in each of his first four innings on the mound, while scattering five hits. The right hander worked around trouble in the second and third innings after allowing East Union to load the bases. Each time, Cross got out of it to keep the Lancers at bay.
“Jeremy did what he’s done all season today,” Manteca head coach Mark Ruiz said. “He had great command of both the fastball and the change-up, and when you’re pounding the zone like he is, it keeps the defense on its toes, and they played well behind him.”
The Buffaloes added onto their lead in the top of the second. Nate Slikker (3-5, three runs, four RBIs) led off the inning with a base hit and came around to score on a 4-6-3 double play to make it 6-0, chasing Diaz from the game.
Julian Ledesma came on in the second to eat innings for the Lancers, limiting the Buffaloes offense through the fourth inning. In the fifth, Slikker would strike again, this time for a three-run home run to make it 9-0 Buffaloes.
“They got to him a little bit later on, but those innings Julian gave us will help us big time heading into tomorrow’s game,” East Union head coach Dan Bauer said. “We knew we were up against it after they jumped on us early, and we needed someone to come in and limit the damage while getting outs, which he did.”
East Union got its lone run on the game on a long opposite field home run from senior third baseman Brayden Camara (2-4, run, RBI).
Manteca added five more runs in the seventh inning after the first five batters reached base and came around to score. With his pitch count low, Cross finished the game himself, getting two of his overall nine strikeouts in the seventh inning to set up a pivotal game 3 on Friday at Manteca.
“Obviously, it’s good that we can get back out there tomorrow and try to get this one back,” Bauer said. “Baseball is a weird game; some days everything goes right for you, and days like today you can’t catch a break, but we’ll look to come back tomorrow and play another good game.”
For the Buffaloes, there will not be any added motivation needed heading into the series finale.
“We’re excited to head back home on a Friday for a big game,” Ruiz said. “We both whooped up on each other for a game, I expect a much closer one tomorrow.”
First pitch from Manteca is on Friday at 4 p.m.
