Marc Wilson had a huge game from the plate on Thursday.
The Sierra senior hit a solo home run and a clutch two-RBI single during a 5-3 Valley Oak League victory over crosstown rival East Union.
“Marc has been hitting the ball well lately,” Sierra head coach Jack Thomson said. “He’s really been striking the ball. We had good at-bats early, but once we got the 5-0 lead we weren’t as aggressive at the plate as we should have been. It was a good win for us.”
Sierra (6-4 VOL, 13-8-1 overall) moved ahead of East Union in the league standings. The Lancers fell to 5-5 VOL and 11-10 overall after the Timberwolves forced the series split after a 3-1 loss Tuesday.
“We left a total of 10 guys on base and didn’t cash in when we needed to,” East Union head coach Dan Triglia said. “Sierra did a good job of cashing opportunities, so that was the difference.”
After Sierra jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings, EU didn’t throw in the towel.
The Lancers got one back in the top of the fourth after Jesus Esquivel got across the plate on some wild throws by Sierra. After a scoreless fifth, EU’s Trevor Huntoon connected with an RBI single that scored Sam Robinson to make it, 5-2.
Brennan Koeller tallied an RBI for EU that scored Andrew Ruiz and cut its deficit to two runs. EU left the bases loaded in two different innings, including the fourth.
Sierra’s Hunter Peterson came in to provide relief for Kyle Oden in the fourth inning. Peterson hit his first batter on his first pitch of the game to load the bags up. He then tossed two straight strikeouts to escape the jam and keep his squad’s four-run cushion intact.
“(Oden) struggled a little bit with command,” Thomson said. “But then (Peterson) came and got two strikeouts with the bases loaded, which was real big.
“It was a win we had to have. We made some big pitches when we needed to and we had some key hits when we needed to.”
Sierra’s Wilson hit one out of the park in the second inning that got over the right-field fence in the corner. He also had a two-RBI single that scored Jake Pruitt and Dakota Conners to make it 5-0. Sierra’s Jacob Souza hit an RBI double to the left-field corner that scored Ryan Vasquez for Sierra’s second run. Joseph Collett tallied Sierra’s other RBI on its third run which brought Souza across the dish.
Vasquez also came in and finished the game for Sierra, tossing three strikeouts in the last two innings.
“(Vasquez) attacked the strike zone and did a good job,” Thomson concluded. “We’re in the mix as far as being one of the top three (from the VOL), but one of us was going to have to leave here with five losses.”
East Union will be in action on Tuesday at Weston Ranch at 4 p.m., while Sierra will head to Lathrop.
Sophomore
East Union 4, Sierra 3
Gabriel Sauceda’s double sparked East Union’s pivotal sixth-inning rally, and Kyle Emerson drove in two runs while going 2 for 3 in the Lancer win.
Emerson was also one of three pitchers who toed the rubber for the Lancers. He threw two innings, Gabe Chavez logged three and Marco Gonzales pitched the final two.
Wilson slugs Sierra to needed win
East Union comes up short after stranding 10 runners