Forty years ago, on May 20, 1974, the 1974 prep baseball season came to an appropriately thunderous and dramatic end for the two local schools when Manteca High rode home on a prodigious two-run homer by Dan Vogel in the bottom of the eighth inning. The blow gave the Buffaloes a 2-1 win over East Union High and the Valley Oak League championship spot. The Lancers had edged into a 1-0 lead in the top of the extra inning on a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt by Paul Hayashino with the bases loaded, scoring Darrell Hardcastle. The Buffs finished the league season with a mark of 10-2 for Coach Jim Brown. The Lancers finished at 6-6 for Coach Butch Marliani.



In other sports stories from the Bulletin files:

100 years ago: May 24, 1914 – The Manteca baseball team, with Lagorio in the box, were defeated at Sonora last Sunday by a score of 9 to 1. The boys made the trip, which is 65 miles, in machines, arriving there after noon. Their defeat is responsible in a measure to the strange ground, facing the sun and the long ride.



40 years ago: May 23, 1974 – Wrapping up the VOL tennis season with an unblemished 12-0 record, Coach Alex Henderson’s Manteca High netters handily dispensed with East Union High Friday afternoon, 12-3. Terry Munoz teamed with Dave Sanders and Bud Michael to win all nine of the singles games. The Buff doubles teams of Doug West-Javier Castillo and Emmett Webster-Fred Ratto upset the previously undefeated Lancer number-one doubles team. EU’s unheralded number-two doubles team of Tracy Curtis-Jim Watson turned the tables to register all three points for the upset-minded Lancers.

 

30 years ago: May 22, 1984 – East Union High pitchers doled out 13 walks to El Camino High Saturday and the upset-minded Sacramento team turned seven of those passes into runs and ousted the Lady Lancers from the Sac-Joaquin Section AA softball playoffs by a 10-4 count. The loss marked the third straight year they have been eliminated in the early going of the Sections. Teri Severns blasted a long triple and Patty Ott cracked a homer leading off the seventh inning for the locals. EU, coached by John Van Zant, ends its season with a 12-8 overall record.

The VOL champion Manteca High baseball team is still looking for that elusive playoff victory. The Buffaloes saw their season come to a discouraging end Monday afternoon as Sacramento-Mira Loma High collected nine hits and took advantage of five Buff errors to post an 8-2 victory on the MHS diamond. It was the Buffs’ second straight loss in the double-elimination Sac-Joaquin Section AA playoffs. Chris Steves lived up to his all-league billing, producing six hits in eight at-bats, including triple, over the two playoff games. Coach Jack Thomson’s team finishes the season with a 14-11 overall record.

Chris Indelicato, a senior leader and one of East Union High’s top pitchers, picked up three awards at the school’s Spring Sports Social Wednesday night. Indelicato, who pitched a no-hitter early in the season and was named to the all-VOL team, was chosen the Most Valuable Player, was selected as the Best Offensive Player and was the recipient of the Captain’s Plaque. MVP’s from other spring sports teams at EU were: Nancy Nunes for softball; Mike Battles for golf; Louis Noble for tennis and Anthony Torres, Lennie Rieb, Regina Jordan and Debbie Paradzinski for track and field.

For senior Marilyn Elkins, it’s on to the Los Angeles Coliseum and the State high school track meet to close out her career as Manteca High’s premier shot putter. For MHS’s Tony Perez, only a sophomore, it’s wait until next year. Elkins finished a solid fourth in the Northern California high school finals in Berkeley Saturday with a throw of 41-2. Perez was a near-miss as he finished as odd-man-out in a three-way photo finish in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.78.



10 years ago: May 26, 2004 – East Union High erupted for six runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to surge to an improbable 12-9 victory over Vanden High of Fairfield in the Division III Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs yesterday at McAuliffe Ballpark in Sacramento. Vanden is currently the number-five ranked D-III prep team in the state. It was the first game of a best-of-three series. Eric Texeira spearheaded the Lancers’ impressive come-from-behind win, going 4-for-4 with two singles, a double and a triple, with two runs scored and an RBI.

Ashley Anderson singled and drove in Amanda Vickers with the eventual winning run as the East Union High softball team blanked Sacramento’s Mira Loma High 2-0 to gain the semi-finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III softball playoffs Thursday at the Sacramento Softball Complex. Vickers had tripled a few minutes earlier.

Sierra High had a tough draw on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III baseball playoffs. The Timberwolves got drilled early and simply couldn’t keep up in a 12-2, five-inning, season-ending loss to Vanden High on Saturday. Paul Bassi drove in the T’wolves’ only runs on a two-RBI double in the third inning.

Kelli Goes was named the MVP of the soccer team at the East Union High Spring Sports Awards event yesterday. Other MVP’s included Allison Wright and Scott Toone in swimming and Brittney Tachara and Amanda Vickers in softball.

Most Valuable Players named at the Sierra High Spring Sports Awards event on Friday included Melissa Brock and Ja-Neil Bragg in swimming.

At the Manteca High Spring Sports Awards ceremonies, Joseph Pirillo and Katelyn McGhee were named the All-around Senior Athletes and Chris Buccieri was the tennis MVP. Andrew May was the track MVP, while Alyssa Hardcastle and Raelynn Walsworth were the softball MVP’s.

Sierra High dodged and dashed all over the Lincoln High pitch in Stockton Saturday, ending a season-long pursuit of glory by downing cross-town rival Manteca High 2-0 to take home the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III soccer title. Andrea Trujillo scored the first T’wolf goal on a free kick early in the second half and Ashley Goheen later scored the other goal for SHS. Coach Manuel Pires and his girls ended the season with a 24-3 mark.