After suffering through the wrong end of a perfect game the Weston Ranch Cougars responded, asserting themselves as a viable Valley Oak League threat in a 4-1 victory over the Manteca Buffaloes Friday in Stockton.
The Cougars gave head coach Ron Wayman his first VOL win in style, holding Manteca’s offense in check behind a dominant pitching performance from senior Tyler Scharnow. Scharnow was impressive to say the least, limiting the Buffaloes to one unearned run, while striking out nine.
Weston Ranch got two hits apiece from Kevin Haruta, Juan Ramos and Cody Simmerly, with Haruta coming around to score three of the Cougars’ four runs.
“I’m very proud of the bottom half of the lineup,” Wayman said. “We came back from a 13-0 loss Wednesday and bounced back and showed heart and determination.
“They showed the team that they are and I’m very proud of them.”
Oakdale 3, East Union 2
For the second consecutive contest East Union put together a quality showing, but had to watch Oakdale celebrate another one-run victory Friday.
The Lancers took an early 2-1 lead but Oakdale scratched across the tying run in the fourth and sent East Union home with a seventh inning walk-off home run from Andy Morris.
Morris was 3 for 3 on the day, smashing another home run to lead off the fourth inning. East Union pitcher Zac Carrillo struck out six and did not walk a batter through seven innings of work.
“Zac did a fantastic job from the bump,” East Union head coach Dan Triglia said. “He just missed his spots a couple of times and some mistakes were hit.
“You just tip your hat to the kid for Oakdale.”
The loss leaves the Lancers 0-2 in VOL action, yet the club will have to find solace knowing how close they are to being 2-0. East Union will try and get into the win column Wednesday when they travel to Lathrop to take on the Spartans.
Sierra 11, Sonora 6
The Timberwolves were able to atone for a lackluster VOL opener, bouncing back with an 11-6 win over the host Sonora Wildcats Friday.
Mike Leland went the distance for Sierra (1-1, 9-3), battling through a tough inning early for the complete-game victory.
“Leland got in trouble early,” Sierra head coach Jack Thomson said. “But from the third inning on he was lights out.”
Jason Angelo was 2 for 3with a pair of RBI, Marc Wilson was 2 for 3 and John Waggy drove in two with an RBI double. Dominic Alejandre drove in three in the win.
“It was real good to see us bounce back and play well,” Thomson said. “It was night and day from Wednesday.”
Southern League
Le Grand 6, Ripon Christian 5
The Knights got a solid effort from Kalvin Prins, but a four-run seventh inning left Ripon Christian on the short end of a one-run Southern League contest Friday.
Le Grand went into its final at bat trailing Ripon Christian 5-2 after the Knights’ four-run sixth inning.
Jon Vander Molen was 2 for 4 to pace the Knights, while both Chris Saenz and Dominic Nelson collected a hit, with Nelson’s being a grand slam. Prins also hit a double and scored a run.
Sophomore
Manteca 11, Weston Ranch 5
Manteca 11, Weston Ranch 0 (5)
Alex Jorgensen had three inside the park home runs over the two game sweep and Nick Brooks closed out the day with a two-hit shutout for Manteca.
