The Sierra Timberwolves got a complete game from starting pitcher Koa Rodrigues, played great defense over the field and hit the ball just enough to secure a huge 2-1 victory over Patterson in Valley Oak League play Wednesday afternoon at Jack Thomson Field.
“Koa was huge for us today,” Sierra head coach Travis Thomson said. “He pounded the zone from start to finish and let his guys play defense behind him. He had all four of his pitches going today. It was really fun to watch.”
Sierra (3-11 VOL, 11-14 overall) came in to the second game of the series against Patterson (1-13, 7-18) well positioned for a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoff berth despite struggling through a difficult league schedule.
“The difficulty of every game on the VOL schedule definitely helps us when it comes to playing other teams,” Thomson said. “I’ve been pleased with the way we’ve played outside of league against other competitive teams in the area.”
Thomson turned to Rodrigues in the second game of the series after dropping Monday’s opener at Patterson 6-2. The senior right-hander answered the bell for his coach and his team, only really getting in trouble on two occasions through the first six innings of his outing. Rodrigues worked around an error and a Tigers hit in the first inning, and after two hits in the fourth with one out, he got Patterson designated hitter Jonathan Verdugo to line into a double play started by Chad Simas Jr.
“I was really just trying to make good pitches and let my defense play behind me,” Rodrigues said. “Getting outs early in the count helped me stay fresh and keep the ball down, which has been successful for me.”
While Rodrigues kept Patterson bats at bay, his offense was able to muster enough support to give the Timberwolves a chance to win. After leaving runners in scoring position with less than two outs in the first two innings, Sierra finally broke through in the third, scoring a run without a hit. After a Patterson error put right fielder Xavier Hardiman onboard with no one out, Thomson elected to play small ball and bunt the junior over. Cole Martin’s sacrifice bunt was mishandled by Patterson first baseman Trevor Green, helping Hardiman get to third with no one out.
In probably the biggest at-bat in the game, Simas Jr. (1-2, 1 RBI) drove in Hardiman with a sacrifice fly deep to center field to make it 1-0 Timberwolves.
“CJ came up big for us in that spot,” Thomson said. “After leaving those runners on early, it puts more and more pressure to pitch and play defense perfectly, so seeing us get one across definitely gave us the confidence to keep pitching and playing well.”
Sierra would strike for their second run of the game in the fifth inning. After a leadoff single by Kian Mejia, Simas Jr. got on with a walk, and Ryan Reyes reached on a single of his own to load the bases for Fabian Fuentes.
Fuentes came through in the clutch, driving a single to right field scoring Mejia. Patterson starter Eliseo Espinoza battled back and got an inning-ending double play on the next pitch but Sierra took a two-run lead into the later innings.
Rodrigues worked an efficient sixth inning and quickly got the first two outs in the seventh without allowing a baserunner.
The Sierra starter looked to get his third complete game of his career on a ground ball to third with two outs, but a tough play saw the ball go through the glove of the first baseman putting a Tiger on base. The next batter Jacob Pierce would line a triple into the gap with the tying run just 90 feet from home.
Thomson took a visit to the mound to talk it over with his pitcher.
“I knew Koa was the guy to get us out of that moment,” he said. “I went out there and reminded them that nothing else mattered except for the batter coming up next and we needed to focus on the present if we were going to get out of it.”
Rodrigues responded as he did all afternoon, getting pinch-hitter Jose Vargas Reyes to ground out to John Thomson to secure the win for the Timberwolves. Final stat line for Rodrigues saw him go seven innings allowing just five hits while striking out two.
“I think this is one we can build off of,” he said. “We continue to play better and better defense, and our offense is showing flashes. Hopefully, we can keep it going against these guys and take the series.”
Sierra will hit the road back to Patterson for the rubber match Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
