The 2015 season was one that the Pitman High varsity baseball team can feel proud about.
After tackling the Central California Conference this season and dethroning the cross-town rivals in Turlock, the Pride rolled into the postseason and battled through Gregori and Beyer before meeting the St. Mary's Rams on Wednesday in what inevitably became their turning point with a 4-3 loss.
What followed the loss, was the Pride falling into the single elimination round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Division I South Section bracket where they met Tracy on Thursday and after an agonizing contest the previous night, the Pride looked depleted as they fell in six innings, 13-2.
“It was very humbling situation playing a team like Tracy,” said Pitman's Colton Evans.
Tracy had no issue jumping out to an early 5-0 lead after the first inning with only three hits.
Essentially the Pride just were not the same, committing three errors for the game which was unusual for them, since they were known for having a nearly flawless defense.
Instead Tracy never let the Pride settle as the bats got hot from the start and they ended it that way also.
The Tracy Bulldogs went on a 7-2 surge after the first inning and ended the contest in six innings, earning their rightful spot in the South Bracket Championship game today against St. Mary's.
After winning four straight heading into Wednesday's, the Pride looked worn down after their grudge match with St. Mary's on Wednesday.
Sophomore starter Nick Jones tossed 4 and 1/3 innings and held the Rams to only three runs on five hits.
With an early 1-0 lead, the Rams then tacked on four-runs to take a 4-1 lead heading into the final two innings of play.
Then in the top of the sixth, Evans led off the inning with a single and began the rally for his team.
With Evans on board and a one strike count, Carrigg was tested once again and this time he let the bat swing take the ball over the left field wall and the Pride had cut the lead to one at 4-3 with only one out.
Zach Wichman followed with a hard double, followed by a walk and St. Mary's made the pitching change, pulling out their starter in Karsten Lee after getting rattled by the Pride bats.
“It is stuff like that which we try to have class and battle through it and being united as a family we put trust in each other and we stayed calm and cut the lead, but we couldn't finish it,” Evans added.
Pitman ends the year with the second most wins (24) in a season since the teams first in 2005.
They end the year with a 24-7 overall posting, the best record since going 26-6-1 in 2006 and the first time reaching 20-plus victories since they did so in 2011.
“We just wanted to start the way we ended it against St. Mary's but we’ll just keep that motivation going for next year,” said Carrigg. “Keep going.”
