STOCKTON —David Gonzales and David Lopez supplied some of the pop for the Lathrop offense but were also instrumental in fending off host Chavez from the pitcher’s mound in a 5-2 victory Tuesday.
Gonzales rung up six strikeouts in four innings and settled down after a rough opening frame. Lopez pitched a perfect sixth and struck out three in three hitless innings in relief, earning the win. The Spartans (2-0) broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth inning when Jordan Sharifnejad singled home Santiago Kantun. Ross Tisdell scored the insurance run on a wild pitch in the seventh.
Lopez went 3 for 4 with an RBI Gonzales reached base three times (two walks, hit by pitch) and scored twice.
Lathrop broke the ice in the first inning when Brian Baltazar and Gonzales were waved home after Albert Flores (2 for 4) reached on an outfield error for a 2-0 lead. The Titans (0-2) quickly responded, as TK Kheandeng and Gabriel Sanchez laced back-to-back one-out doubles in the bottom half. Gonzales was able to limit the damage and then struck out the Chavez side in order in the following inning.
The Spartans failed to expand on their lead in the top of the second after starting the inning with the bases loaded and no outs. That set the tone for the rest of the outing.
“We had plenty of opportunities to put the team away we just couldn’t get the big hit,” Lathrop coach Randy Baltazar said. “Pitching and heads-up baseball saved us today. We need to go back to the drawing board and play fundamental baseball.

Sierra 10, Cordova 2
RANCHO CORDOVA — The Timberwolves (1-0) trailed 2-0 after an inning of play but dominated the rest of the contest.
Anthony Arredondo and Jaden Pina combined to throw a two-hitter for Sierra. Arredondo struck out three in his four innings of work, while Pina tossed three hitless innings.
Sierra rapped out 14 hits on the day. Jacob Peterson was 4 for 4 with a triple, Steven Rios drove in two runs and crushed double while going 3 for 4, and Nick Oseguera went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Modesto Christian 6, Weston Ranch 5
SALIDA — The Cougars (4-1) suffered their first defeat in an eight-inning heartbreaker.
Pitchers Manuel Rubio (six innings, 11 strikeouts, walk) Jordan Severin did all they could, but Weston Ranch was ultimately done in by errors.
“Manuel threw a strong game and Jordan came in and did a good job of throwing strikes, unfortunately we did not take care of the baseball,” Weston Ranch coach David Hager said. “We gave them all of their runs and have to learn how to take care of the ball.”