STOCKTON — On Monday he did it with his bat.

On Friday, he did it with his arm.

Antonio Joseph struck out seven and walked one, as Weston Ranch completed a home-and-home sweep of McNair with a 12-2 victory to close the preseason. Joseph gave up two runs in the first, though both were unearned.

Joseph was 2 for 4 in Monday’s contest and drove in three runs. His performance on the mound was a nice follow-up to Chris Fleckenstein’s nine-strikeout gem in Monday’s 11-1 win.

“(Joseph) did a good job,” Weston Ranch coach Dave Smith said. “We want our pitchers to be concentrating on working ahead of batters and challenging them, and he did that.

“He was able to spot all three of his pitches. He competed on the mound, and that’s what we really want him to do.”

The offense spotted him a four-run lead in the top of the first. J.R. Williams stroked a triple and had three RBIs to highlight his 3-for-3 effort. Steven Singh was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs; and Corey Lee legged out a triple while driving in three runs.
The Cougars (2-4) begin Valley Oak League play Tuesday at Sierra.

“We have somewhat of a young varsity team this year, with most of our players coming from the sophomore team last year,” Smith said. “Anytime you roll into league with some wins, that does nothing but build confidence.”

At Manteca High, Ricky Acosta rapped out three hits and drove in as many runs to help the Buffaloes improve to 6-4-1 with one preseason contest to go.

Leadoff hitter Ryan Knisely was 1 for 1 but plated three runs and drove in two more.
Matt Barber threw five innings, giving up six hits and striking out four for the win. Kevin Allen logged two innings, scattering a pair of hits and fanning three.

Manteca caps non-league action at Lodi Monday.

At Sierra High, the Timberwolves (3-2) struggled to get going at the plate, as West starter Matt Fontaine struck out 11 in six innings of work

Sierra was able to scratch across three runs in the third. The Wolf Pack (5-2) scored at least a run in each of the first five innings.

Jordan Louie led Sierra at the plate, going 2 for 2.

At Billy Hebert Field in Stockton, Tokay pitcher Bobby Ramos struck out six and walked a pair in a two-hit masterpiece to deal the Lancers (4-2) their worse loss of the season.

Steven Weddington led off the game with a single, and Wade Morten doled out a hit two batters later for East Union’s only hit of the game. The Tigers blew it open with five runs aided by two errors in the fourth.

“(Ramos) was very effective and around the plate all day,” East Union coach Dan Triglia said. “He did a very good job.”

— Jonamar Jacinto