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Castellanos 1-hitter, 11 Ks lift Lathrop past Weston Ranch
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The Lathrop Spartans rode the dominant right arm of Gabe Castellanos to an 8-0 Valley Oak League win over Weston Ranch Wednesday in league action.

Castellanos was impressive to say the least, twirling a complete game one-hitter and striking out 11 on his way to the victory. The lone hit the Cougars were able to record was a bunt by Tyler Scharnow in which Castellanos mishandled for his only blemish.

“Gabe had great command of all three of his pitches today,” Lathrop head coach Randy Baltazar said. “He was the difference maker by commanding the zone and keeping them off balance.”

Lathrop had a ton of productivity from the batting order, getting four players with multiple hits. Ernie Garcia was 3 for 3 with two doubles and a pair of RBI. Mikey Pereznegron was 2 for 3 with a double and three runs scored. Marcus Mertilien was 2 for 4 with a run and a RBI, while both Preston Rizzo and Castellanos both collected one hit.

Oakdale 11, Manteca 6

The Buffaloes held a 6-2 lead halfway through their VOL matchup with front-running Oakdale, but Manteca could not protect it, falling behind to a late Oakdale push in a 11-6 loss Wednesday.

Oakdale did most of its damage in the late innings, putting up a three-spot in the fifth and four more in the sixth.

The Buffaloes pushed across its first run in the third and followed that with a six-run fourth to build a 6-2 margin. The Mustangs would respond, breaking the game open with clutch hitting in the latter innings.

Danny Gouveia helped Manteca with a two RBI double and Buddy Reeder was 1 for 3 with a pair of RBI.

The two clubs will be back on the diamond at Manteca High Friday for the home-home series finale.

Sophomore

Lathrop 5, Weston Ranch 3

Gerardo Barba pitched four innings and was 2 for 3 from the plate to help Lathrop beat Weston Ranch.

Jacob Nunes drove in two runs and threw three innings from the mound. Chuckie Garcia was 2 for 3 with two RBIs.