LODI – It may be baseball season, but Ronaldo Tijero’s football training came in handy Monday night.
With Manteca leading Christian Brothers of Sacramento by three runs for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Falcons got the first two runners aboard to bring the tying run to the plate.
The next three batters batter blasted powerful shots to deep center in the expansive Zupo Field but Tijero ran them all down, giving the Buffaloes their second blue banner in three years.
“I have been taking good reads all year because I played receiver in football,” Tijero said. “I have been working on my reactions and it played out in this game.
“Those balls were hit hard and I knew I had to pick up some speed and track them down. I saw that last one and I knew I was going to get under it and I knew right there that we were champions.”
Nobody appreciated Tijero’s hard work more than Manteca pitcher Devin Sullivan. After relieving Tyler Graves-Kelso with two out in the fourth, Sullivan retired seven in a row before giving up back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh.
“Naldo (Tijero) came up big,” Sullivan said. “He tracked down everything all year – it never fails. He was there when I needed him, that’s for sure.”
Graves-Kelso (2 for 4, double, two RBI) gave up just one run into the fourth before a leadoff error helped Christian Brothers (24-6-1) put up five fourth-inning runs. Graves-Kelso chewed on that until the seventh when he launched a two-RBI double to put the game out of reach.
“I had a rough night pitching,” Graves-Kelso said. “That’s for sure.
“I didn’t want to let it get to me so I told myself that in my next at-bat I was going to make it worth it. A lefty came in and it had a little bit of tail – he threw me one on the outside corner and I knew once I hit the ball it was going over his head.”
Zach Chamberlain (2 for 4, two RBI) committed that fourth-inning error for the Buffaloes (23-7), and he too made the best at his chance for atonement with a two-RBI single in the fifth inning to put Manteca ahead to stay at 7-6.
“It was crazy,” Chamberlain said. “That error was going through my head. I had to pick my team up and it just happened. I made contact with the ball because that is all I try to do.”
Tijero tripled in the first inning to score Jake Menasco and came in to score on a double by Kyle Rachels (3 for 3, double, RBI, sacrifice).
“The big key is always to score first,” Rachels said. “We definitely did that. We couldn’t hit any better.”
Manteca coach Neil MacDannald knew he had faced a worthy opponent.
“That is one heck of a baseball team right there,” MacDannald said of Christian Brothers. “But I have the honor of coaching this team right here.
“If you have watched this team at all this year you knew that whether we came out on top or not we were not going to quit until the very end. Fortunately and obviously for us it was enough for us this time. It is an honor to coach these guys.”
In addition to MacDannald’s second blue banner in three years, Monday’s win was a milestone – win No. 100.
“Whatever number win it is tonight is phenomenal,” MacDannald said. “Regardless what the number is, to get a section title against the gauntlet of playoff teams that we had to go through is surreal. I am just blessed to be a part of it.
“Those guys put in the work – I may be along for the ride but those guys are the ones who did it.”
The win capped quite a year for Manteca High which also claimed the girls Division III SJS soccer championship and the boys CIF State Division III basketball championship.
