Manteca won’t need ace pitcher Jacob Corn to get two wins this week after he did so as both starter and reliever in last week’s thrilling series with East Union.

Thanks to Lucas Vaughn’s outstanding complete-game two-hitter in a 7-0 win at Sonora Tuesday, the Buffaloes will have the rest of their deep pitching staff available for Thursday’s series finale. The junior transfer from Hilmar struck out 15 and walked just one, while Sonora’s veteran ace was knocked out of the contest after the third inning.

“He was in command of all of his pitches today,” Manteca coach Gene Ballardo said of Vaughn. “We were able to score some runs early, and he was pretty good after that. He stepped in and did a great job.”

The Valley Oak League-leading Buffaloes (5-0, 11-3 overall) plated three runs on four hits and two walks against Sonora lefty Ryan Stevenson. Buddy Reeder sparked Manteca with an RBI double in the second, and the team rallied for two more in the third.

“That was big because it gave us some early confidence,” Ballardo said. “I really liked our approaches at the plate today. I expect us to see (Stevenson) again on Thursday, so we’ll have to be ready for that.”

Corn didn’t necessarily have the day off, as he contributed two doubles in three at-bats while driving in a run.

Sonora (1-4, 9-7) is in need of a win to keep pace with the rest of the league’s postseason contenders. The Wildcats have lost four straight, including two upset defeats by Lathrop last week.



Sierra 9, Kimball 7

In Tracy, the Timberwolves (4-1 VOL, 11-5-1 overall) picked up big a huge victory behind a four-run rally in the top of the sixth.

Trailing 6-5, Jake Pruitt drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs for Sierra, and Joseph Collett followed suit with a three-run triple. Relief pitcher Hunter Peterson allowed a run in the bottom of the inning but was otherwise stellar in his three-inning effort that earned him the win.

Dakota Conners added a two-run double that helped Sierra plate four in the second for an early 4-1 lead. Kimball’s three pitchers struggled, as they walked six batters and hit five.



Oakdale 14, W. Ranch 2 (5)

The tone was set in the top of the first, when Oakdale (4-1, 11-7) took advantage of four Weston Ranch errors and scratched across five runs in the process. The Mustangs scored the game’s first 14 runs before host Weston Ranch plated two in the fifth.

Oakdale’s Eddie Machado threw a four-hitter, with Juan Ramos accounting for two of those knocks for the Cougars.



Southern League

Ripon Christian 11, Turlock Christian 1(5)

Dominic Nelson (3 for 4, 2 runs), Travis Vander Molen (2 for 3, double, 3 runs) and Chris Saenz (double, run) each drove in two runs for Ripon Christian, which improved to 7-0 in league and 11-6-1 overall. Vander Molen was also the winning pitcher after giving up just two hits.