Tracy Press

 
Valdez’s 2-run double assures win for Tracy

A battle of the Bulldogs looked like it might settle into a defensive game today at Tracy High School’s baseball field, until Tracy sophomore second baseman Jacob Valdez found the pitch he wanted in the bottom on the fifth inning.

“It was just a perfect pitch for me to hit,” Valdez said afterward. He slammed a double deep into right center field to drive in Justin Evans and Steve Ramos and seal the 5-3 win over the visiting Sonora Bulldogs.

Valdez’s two-run shot came after Tracy lost an early lead.

“I thought it was real key that we answered back like that,” Alkire said.

He also credits the Tracy outfield for doing its part, with left fielder Ryan Scornaienchi and center fielder Brandon Jossey chasing down long balls from Sonora’s batters.

Sonora coach Tim Raposa said his team did well on defense, with no more than six Tracy batters up in any inning, but Tracy’s batters and base runners took advantage of the few opportunities they had.

“They did the small things to jump ahead,” he said. “Overall, defensively, I thought we did very well for our first game of the year.”

The Tracy Bulldogs got on the scoreboard right away in the first inning when SonoraValdez, and then a single to Scornaienchi. Catcher Johnny Espana drove in Ramos on a sacrifice grounder to short, and first baseman Vince Canale drove in Valdez on a sacrifice fly to left field. pitcher Craig Cavalero gave up two walks to shortstop Ramos and to

Tracy scored again in the second when designated hitter Daniel Heefner took a base on balls, advanced on a stolen base and went to third on a balk. Tracy right fielder Evans drove Heefner in on a sacrifice fly to left.

Sonora came back in the third when Tracy starting pitcher Josh Frea gave up three walks, including one batter hit by a pitch. They scored on a sacrifice fly, a single by Sonora first baseman Dylan Coffin, and a sacrifice grounder.

Relief pitcher Bret Maddox prevented two other Sonora runners from scoring and shut down Sonora in the fourth inning. Sonora right fielder Jared Hart hit a double in the fifth, but ended up stranded on base.

Tracy pitcher Kyle Moses retired six of the next seven Sonora batters in the sixth and seventh innings, striking out two, and gave up just one hit.

The win puts Tracy at 2-0 this season, and the Bulldogs next game is Thursday at EastUnion High School in Manteca.

(JV) Tracy 9, Sonora 6

Ricky Diaz pounded a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning today to assure a 9-6 win for the Tracy Bulldogs over the Sonora Bulldogs. Robbie Jackman pitched five innings and Alex Flores pitched the last two for the win.

Tracy and Sonora were tied 6-6 going into the bottom of the seventh inning when Jake Rivera took a base on balls. Robbie Jackman moved Rivera to second on what looked like it would be a sacrifice grounder, but the Sonora team missed the tag on Jackman

With runners on first and second, and with nobody out Diaz found the pitch he liked.

“It was just a bomb,” coach Ken Perez said afterward, adding that he estimated the distance at 370 feet.

To reach Sports Editor Bob Brownne, call 830-4227 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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