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Contreras clutch strikeout seals win for EU
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PATTERSON — Anthony Contreras struck out Patterson’s cleanup batter with the bases loaded for the final out, sealing a 5-2 season-opening victory for East Union on Wednesday.

“Pretty solid game for the first game of the year,” Lancers coach Dan Triglia said. “It was nice to get back into the competitive flow and the players did very well today and was solid defensively.”

Cameron Ceja sparked the East Union offense. He started by scoring on an error in the top of the first inning, and in the fifth delivered a two-run single that plated Daniel Ruiz and Daniel Marquez. Ceja advanced to second base the throw to the plate, stole second and scooted home on a sacrifice fly by Mason James.

Brayden Hardcastle drove in Marquez, who reached with a leadoff hit, with a two-out single in the seventh.

Starting pitcher Fernando Segura did not factor into the decision but turned in a solid four-inning appearance, striking out four while giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks. Reliever Jake Sousa got the win and struck out four in 2 2/3 innings.

East Union plays host to Lodi on Friday. 

 

Weston Ranch 12, Galt 6

STOCKTON — The Cougars (2-0) rallied for four runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings and rode the arms of sophomore Gabriel Melgar (four innings) and Carlos Souza for the win.

Weston Ranch overcame defensive struggles with offense. Carlos Drain went 2 for 3 with five RBIs, while Amier Bowen (four RBIs, steal) and James Peavey (RBI, steal) each hit 2 for 4. Anthony Faulk contributed two runs and an RBI.

“Gabriel, for his first varsity start as a sophomore, came out and competed,” Weston Ranch coach David Hager said. “I was proud of the way he battled through some adversity when we fumbled the ball a couple of times, and Carlos backed him up with some strong innings.

“When we take care of the ball we’re OK, but today we struggled. Our offensive picked us up and our pitchers got us out of trouble on a regular basis.”

Whitney 6, Manteca 0

Manteca (0-2) was done in by five errors and struggled to get clutch hits for a second straight game.

The visiting Wildcats (1-0) from Rocklin were able to scratch across three runs against Kyle Rachels, the first of three pitchers used by Manteca. Cole Hutarte went 2 for 4 for Whitney, which outhit the Buffs, 7-6.

“We need to play catch better,” Manteca coach Neil MacDannald said. “Our pitchers have battled these first two games. We will work hard to give the pitcher better support. We also need to be better with our situational hitting.”

Escalon 6, Sierra 3

Aided by an error, visiting Escalon (3-0) scored three runs in the seventh inning to race away with the victory.

Jacob Peterson tied it at 3-3 for Sierra (1-1) with a double in the fifth. Chase Sperbeck scored on the hit and finished 4 for 4 with a double of his own. Both teams racked up 10 hits. Lucca Dutra highlighted Escalon with a double and a homer.

Sophomore

Manteca 4, Whitney 1

Isaiah Perez struck out seven over four innings in a combined two-hitter, and Nate Gutierrez fanned three for the save.

Cristian Tonna, Rafael Diaz and Isaac Searcy each had a hit and an RBI for the Buffaloes, who opened scoring in the bottom of the first and tacked on three more in the fourth.