Tracy Press

Both the Tracy and West varsity baseball teams notched wins on the first day of the Atwater Lions Club Tournament.

Tracy 15, Patterson 2

The Bulldogs showed that they have some depth to their batting order Monday in a 15-2 win over Patterson.

It was the Tracy High varsity baseball team’s first game of the Atwater Lions Club Tournament, which continues through Thursday at Atwater Memorial Ball Park.

The Bulldogs scored consistently, and with an 11-2 lead in the sixth inning Jacob Valdez hit a bases-loaded home run over the right-field fence to end the game on the 10-run rule.

B.J. O’Brien hit two doubles and knocked in three runs, and Johnny Espana came through with three hits, including a double and two RBIs. Ryan Scornaienchi also contributed with a bases-loaded triple in the fifth inning.

Pitcher Brett Maddox went all six innings for Tracy and gave up only four hits. Coach Vic Alkire said it’s the first complete game for a Tracy starter this. He said that three of Patterson’s hits came in the third inning, when the Tigers scored both of their runs, but otherwise Patterson couldn’t get the ball past the Tracy defense.

Tracy is now 9-2 for the season.

West 5, Livingston 3

A close win for West at the Atwater tournament on Monday showed that the big hits aren’t always the key to victory.

“I thought we did a good job of manufacturing runs in the fourth inning,” West coach Jim Rice said. “That ended up being the difference.”

With West ahead 2-1 and no one out, Tyler Shepherd got a base hit and Matt Fontaine executed a sacrifice bunt to move Shepherd into scoring position. Jonathan Townsend drove Shepherd in and later scored on C.J. Parilla’s sacrifice fly. Ryan Devencenzi also had two RBIs on two base hits.

It was just the cushion the Wolf Pack needed as Lodi scored in the bottom of the fourth, but never caught up.

Derek Oetken pitched five innings, gave up six hits and struck out seven. Reliever Matt Fontaine pitched two innings, gave up one hit and struck out five.

McNair 21, Millennium 11

While the Falcons gave away a lot of unearned runs in a tournament at McNair High School on Monday, assistant coach Drew Reyes said he’s encouraged to see his team swing the bat more often and put the ball into to play.

The Falcons nearly matched the Eagles on hits, with nine for Millennium and 10 for McNair.

Reyes said McNair’s runs could be attributed mostly to Millennium’s seven errors on the field. He said the McNair players were aggressive on the base paths, while Millenium’s defense missed opportunities to slow down the McNair offense.

Reyes said the improvement on his team was at the plate.

“The kids really hit the ball today and we’re happy with that,” he said. Jake Vierra went 2-for-3 with a three-run double in the fifth inning. Mark LaRue went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Reyes said he was also looking forward to seeing Brandon Haines get his first base hit after a preseason of hitting long outfield shots that ended up as fly-outs.

“He’s hit the ball well, but nothing has fallen,” Reyes said.

(F) St. Mary’s 6, West 5

Home team St. Mary’s got on the scoreboard right away Monday with three runs in the first inning, but West kept battling back and took the game to a bases-loaded finish in the seventh inning.

“The kids never gave up. They fought back but couldn’t get that one run to tie the game,” coach Vince Vargas said.

The St. Mary’s pitcher walked in one run in the seventh, and with the tying run on third the Rams got three West batters out on a fly ball and two strikeouts.

West’s most productive hitters included Eric Gleese, 2-for-4 with a double, and Sal Alvarado, who also went 2-for-4. D.J. Watson and Joey Wagner also got base hits.

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