The Eagles of Turlock Christian were crowned the Division VII CIF Sac-Joaquin Section champions after beating Valley Christian by a score of 1-0 on Tuesday night. This marks the first baseball section title in school history.
Turlock Christian head coach Bill York explained that he had a feeling that his team this year had the potential to be something special.
“When we looked at the talent that we had on paper at the beginning of the season, my assistant coach Nick Espinoza and I knew that we could compete deep into the playoffs,” he said.
It has been a deep playoff run indeed, with the latest chapter featuring the Eagles hoisting a blue banner. But it was not easy. York described Tuesday’s game as one of the best games he has ever been a part of, with the Eagles having to defend the 1-0 lead for the entirety of the game.
The first inning run came by way of situational hitting and aggressive baserunning from the Eagles offense. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Rob York hit a fly ball that was misplayed by the VC defense. York was able to get himself into scoring position on the play and was later driven in on a single by Gavin Farinha.
Farniha was also the starting pitcher for TC, where he once again impressed. During his 10th complete game and 9th shutout of the 2022 season, the junior pitcher struck out 14 batters while only surrendering one hit and four walks. Nevertheless, a couple of TC defensive miscues threatened multiple Valley Christian rallies. Coach York spoke highly about the way in which Farinha was able to keep his composure amid the base traffic.
“Gavin was phenomenal, working through six baserunners over the seven innings,” York said. “He faced three or four high leverage situations.”
York also highlighted catches by Myles Jenkins and Xavier Ruezga to keep VC scoreless.
“When you have a guy dealing on the mound like we had yesterday, it can cause the defense to be complacent, but our guys were in it for every pitch and rose to the occasion when they came,” York added.
Turlock Christian head coach Bill York explained that he had a feeling that his team this year had the potential to be something special.
“When we looked at the talent that we had on paper at the beginning of the season, my assistant coach Nick Espinoza and I knew that we could compete deep into the playoffs,” he said.
It has been a deep playoff run indeed, with the latest chapter featuring the Eagles hoisting a blue banner. But it was not easy. York described Tuesday’s game as one of the best games he has ever been a part of, with the Eagles having to defend the 1-0 lead for the entirety of the game.
The first inning run came by way of situational hitting and aggressive baserunning from the Eagles offense. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Rob York hit a fly ball that was misplayed by the VC defense. York was able to get himself into scoring position on the play and was later driven in on a single by Gavin Farinha.
Farniha was also the starting pitcher for TC, where he once again impressed. During his 10th complete game and 9th shutout of the 2022 season, the junior pitcher struck out 14 batters while only surrendering one hit and four walks. Nevertheless, a couple of TC defensive miscues threatened multiple Valley Christian rallies. Coach York spoke highly about the way in which Farinha was able to keep his composure amid the base traffic.
“Gavin was phenomenal, working through six baserunners over the seven innings,” York said. “He faced three or four high leverage situations.”
York also highlighted catches by Myles Jenkins and Xavier Ruezga to keep VC scoreless.
“When you have a guy dealing on the mound like we had yesterday, it can cause the defense to be complacent, but our guys were in it for every pitch and rose to the occasion when they came,” York added.
Turlock Christian’s playoff run will continue next week when the Northern California Regionals get underway. Round one of the regional bracket will take place on Tuesday. The bracket is expected to be released on Sunday.
