Manteca’s Jeremy Cross threw four innings of two-hit ball and Nate Slikker knocked in three runs for the host Buffaloes, going 2 for 3 with a double and stolen base in a 10-0 five-inning mercy-rule shortened thumping of Lodi in non-league baseball action on Wednesday.

“I felt pretty good,” Cross said. “I was confident going into the game. I always have a good defense behind me and I was just doing what I do.”

The game ended on a bases-loaded walk to Slikker in the bottom of the fifth.

“First, I want to give all the glory to God, because without Him we wouldn’t be playing this beautiful sport,” Slikker said. “But today I think we played our first great team baseball all year.

“We had a lot of energy on an off the field. Our dugout as talking a lot and that gave us energy in our at-bats. We were all dialed, we had great ABs, a lot of walks, a lot of late counts and a lot of barrels. That led to putting pressure on Lodi who made errors that we capitalized on. It was just a great team win.”

Batting in front of Slikker was Bode Hiatt who went 2 for 2 with a pair of walks and scored three runs.

“I was moved up to second in the batting order today,” Hiatt said. “And I felt that I had to prove myself and I hope I did.”

Batting out of the No. 9 hole for Manteca (6-0) was Noah Navarro who was 2 for 2 with two RBI. Brennen Vega belted a two-RBI double and Matt Suarez scored a pair of runs.

“I like the energy we had today,” Buffaloes coach Mark Ruiz said. “Jeremy (Cross) on the mound gave us a lot of energy and the bats came alive a little bit.

“We caught some barrels, which is nice, so I am super happy with both sides of the ball.”

The Flames (0-2) left three runners in scoring position and loaded the bases in the third inning before Cross ended the threat with a strikeout.

Manteca begins Valley Oak League play on Monday at Sierra at 3:30 p.m.