For a brief moment the Lathrop Spartans held a one-run lead and had made it through the heart of the Sierra lineup. The moment fleeted fast and Sierra unloaded with a five-run, error-laced second inning to cruise to a 10-1 Valley Oak League win Wednesday.
Sierra found little resistance from the Spartans when they took control of the contest, adding insurance with a two-run fourth and three-run fifth to put things away. Pitcher Mark Crain was effective to say the least, surrendering one run in the opening frame and nothing else.
“What we did today that we did earlier in the year is we scored two-out runs,” Sierra head coach Jack Thomson said. “We haven’t done that in a long time and so that was good to see. Marc wasn’t real, real sharp, but he was competitive enough to win.
“It was a good win for us; one that we needed.”
Sophomore Dakota Conners was the first Timberwolve to clutch-up, getting a huge two-out, two RBI knock in the second inning to plate Sierra’s fourth and fifth runs. Sierra used three errors, three base on balls and Conners’ hit to sap the Spartans of any fight.
“I knew that it was big because we have not really been hitting the ball too well,” Conners said. “That was a big opportunity, so I was trying to drive in at least one run and do something with it.”
The five-run second dampened the Spartans outlook on the contest. A half inning before the second and Lathrop was clutching a 1-0 lead. The immediate swing in the scoreboard left Lathrop looking the part of an underdog.
“Our difference maker was our demeanor,” Lathrop head coach Randy Baltazar said. “I tell the boys all the time that everybody is happy-go-lucky when things are going good, but when things are going bad that’s when you have to start grinding your teeth and buckling down. Certain plays we made some errors and booted some balls, but they cashed in with two out hits.
“We are our own worst enemy; we kick the ball around and give teams extra outs and we have to find ways to limit that.”
Sierra’s John Waggy also had a two RBI hit in the fourth, while Joseph Collett had an RBI sacrifice fly and Jake Pruitt added an RBI walk. Lathrop’s lone run came when Austin Plunk drove in a Spartan with a base hit up the middle.
Crain went the distance for Sierra, striking out five and holding Lathrop to just one hit after the second inning.
