The Manteca Buffaloes scored six runs in the second and 11 runs in the third inning en route to a 17-0 five-inning victory over Buhach Colony Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.
“We’ve played in so many one-run playoff games the past few seasons that it feels really good to have one like this for a change,” Manteca head coach Josh Farris said. “Offensively, the bats came alive, and I thought we pitched and defended about as well as we can. It was an all-around performance that came at a good time for us.”
Manteca (18-7) came into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed after Farris’ club finished third in the tough Valley Oak League. Thirteenth-seeded Buhach Colony (14-12) wrapped up the regular season in third place in the Central California Conference, earning them a trip to Manteca to open up postseason play.
The Thunder looked like a confident 13-seed early on, as they created traffic on the basepaths against Manteca starting pitcher Riley Ward early on. The senior right-hander allowed the first two Buhach Colony hitters to reach in the first before getting two of her five strikeouts and a groundout to get out of trouble. In the third inning, the first three Thunder hitters reached base before Ward dug deep once again to get two strikeouts and a groundout to keep Buhach Colony off of the board.
“Obviously, I am trying to not allow any runners, but I am confident I can make the right pitches to get out of trouble when I do,” Ward said. “The energy behind me from the defense gave me an extra boost in those spots that helped us get out of it.
The Manteca offense exploded in the third inning for six runs on five hits and a couple of errors by the Thunder to give Ward all of the support she would need in the contest. The outburst was highlighted by RBI singles by Maleiah Garza (3-4, 3 runs, three RBIs) and Bella Cooper (2-3, two runs, two RBIs), and capped by a sacrifice fly by Aleisa Harris to make it 6-0.
“It’s great to hit the long ball, but I was the most proud of today was our ability to get the bunt down and come up with the right at-bat at the right time,” Farris said. “Earlier in the season, we struggled badly in those spots, so to see us convert and play some small ball was nice.”
The long ball would in fact come in a big way for Manteca just one inning later. Catcher Lo Moncada (2-3, run, RBI) led off the third with a solo blast to left field. Moncada started what would be an epic rally for the Buffaloes, as the first nine Manteca hitters to come to the plate in the inning would come around to score.
Na'ima Calderon (2-4, 1 run, four RBIs) got in on the home run party next, hitting a grand slam to left to make it 14-0 Manteca. Four batters later, a two-run shot by Garza would cap the scoring making it 17-0 for the hosts.
“I am seeing the ball really well right now,” Calderon said. “Obviously, seeing everyone get on in front of me, I knew I’d get some hittable pitches, and luckily got a fastball right down the middle – I am just glad I didn’t miss it.”
Ward kept Buhach Colony scoreless for four innings before being relieved by sophomore Emily Lopez. Lopez picked up where Ward left off, throwing a scoreless fifth inning to end the game and send Manteca into the quarterfinals.
Manteca’s victory sets up a showdown against fifth-seeded Dixon on Friday at Manteca.
“They are a really good team that can hit the ball,” Farris said. “We’re playing well at the right time, but we’ll need to bring the same bats we brought today to try to outscore them.”
