Thanks to a trio of walks and an error coupled with clutch hitting, No. 5 East Union put up five first-inning runs on the way to an 8-1 win over 12th-seeded Christian Brothers to open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III baseball playoffs Tuesday at Agostini Field.
“That first inning was good,” Lancers coach Dan Bauer said. “It kind of took the edge off for us and we took advantage for it.
“For a young team like we are, I think we got to breathe a little bit and then we started playing free.”
Blake Mount and Carson Sanders walked to start the first for East Union (17-10), and Mount came in on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Joe Alvarez. After Brayden Camara walked to load the bases, Peyton Heath belted a bases-clearing double down the right-field line, and the Lancers never looked back.
“I was just trying to stay with my approach and go the other way with the bases loaded,” Heath said. “I just wanted to do my job and help the team win.
“I was seeing the ball well today.”
Alvarez went the distance on the hill, striking out eight while allowing four hits and one run with a walk. The East Union freshman pitched his way out of multiple jams with the only run for the Falcons (14-14) of Sacramento coming in the second inning when Lucas Rado came in on an infield single by Mikey Horan.
“I was not worrying about those jams,” Alvarez said. “I was just trying to throw strikes and do my job — not focusing on them, but just focusing on getting the batter out.
Alvarez added another RBI in the second inning when he ripped a double that scored Sanders.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Alvarez said. “On the double I saw it low and in and that’s my pitch and I just turned on it.”
Mount notched another RBI in the fourth inning on a double, plating Victor Naranjo. Mount came in on a sacrifice fly by Sanders for the last run of the game.
“I feel like everyone came to play today,” Mount said. “Our energy was high, and we didn’t make too many mistakes. I made my share but as a team we held the mistakes to a minimum.”
East Union travels to Lincoln on Thursday to face the No. 4 Fighting Zebras at 4 p.m.
Manteca 3, Del Campo 1 (10)
A little thing like the flu will not stop the No. 6 Buffaloes’ Rex Watson from being the hero.
Battling the flu, the University of San Diego commit was held hitless in his first four trips to the plate and came up in the 10th inning after No. 9 batter Nick Garcia led off the frame with a walk for host Manteca. Watson tried to bunt the first two pitches he saw and then pulled a bomb over the right-field fence for the walk-off win.
The Cougars (14-15) of Fair Oaks took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Buffaloes (19-8-1) countered in the sixth when Chris Chavez scored on Jace Quitasol’s infield single.
Manteca takes on a familiar Valley Oak League opponent on Thursday when the Buffaloes travel to Modesto to face sixth-seeded Central Catholic at 4 p.m.
