Despite a 7-1 loss to Downey in Modesto on Friday, the Pitman High varsity baseball squad had already secured a series win by walking off the Knights 8-7 in extra innings on Wednesday.
The Pride began the three-game series on the road Monday with a 9-2 victory.
This week’s results moved the Pride to this place in the Central California Athletic League, with a 3-3 record against conference opponents. They are 7-8 overall and will look to build on the series win in a critical three-game set against second-place Gregori (4-2, 10-3) next week.
Playing hero for the Pride in Wednesday’s walk-off was sophomore Julien Jacinto, who grounded a single through the right side of the infield to score Blake Rose, who led off the eighth inning with a walk and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Alberto Salazar.
Pitman starting pitcher Ben Vilhauer cruised through his first two frames before running into trouble in the third, where he surrendered seven hits as part of a six-run Downey rally. The Pride had a rally of their own in the bottom of the third, capitalizing on control issues from Knights starter Isaac Doornewaard, who walked three and hit a pair en route to allowing three runs to score. The guys in green tied it in the furth on an RBI single by Vilhauer, who scored on a double by Jackson Way on the very next pitch.
The Pride took the lead in the sixth when Downey reliever Gus Munoz Cervantes had similar command issues, walking sophomore Jayden Araujo with the bases loaded. But the Knights forced extra innings, getting a run across on a fielding error.
Friday’s finale was certainly less dramatic, with the Knights leading by multiple runs for nearly the entire contest. It began with Julian Masani smacking a bases-clearing triple in the second inning, and they never looked back.
The Pride, meanwhile, mustered just four hits in the afternoon, with two courtesy of Jacinto. Jacinto cut the Downey lead to 3-1 with an RBI single in the fourth, but Masani quickly responded by driving in another run on a single in the bottom half of the inning. Masani added another insurance run in the sixth on a single, and came around to score on another base knock to put a cap on their offensive explosion.
Pitman will play host to Gregori on Monday and Friday, while they’ll take the trip to North Modesto on Wednesday. A 4 p.m. first pitch is slated for each contest.
