Tracy Press

The Bulldogs wake up too late to keep Manteca from taking home a win.

Once a 12-2 team becomes complacent, it becomes a 12-3 team.

Tracy High baseball coach Vic Alkire said he had to remind his players after Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to Manteca that they can’t take anything for granted.

"When you have a record like ours, you have a target on your back," he said, adding that the Buffaloes, who are now 6-8-1, went into the game at Tracy High with the same perspective Tracy took to some of its preseason matches against the Bay Area’s best teams.

"I definitely think we learned a lesson today," Alkire said. "We have to be ready, because we’re going to get their best game."

First baseman Vince Canale, who helped put the game into extra innings with a two-run triple in the seventh, said it was clear by then that the Bulldogs needed key hits.

Manteca made its hits and base-running count in the first five innings as the Buffaloes took a 3-1 lead and capitalized on Tracy’s errors in the seventh to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Buffaloes gave Tracy an opportunity to turn the game around in the seventh, when Stevie Ramos and Justin Evans walked and Canale, with two out, slammed the ball to the left-field fence. B.J. O’Brien knocked Canale home to send the game into overtime.

Manteca answered with two runs in the top of the eighth, and Tracy left the tying run stranded in the bottom of that inning.

(S) Tracy 6, Manteca 2

Tracy coach Ken Perez said that in spite of the win, he thought the sophomore team also took its game for granted Tuesday. Both teams had four hits, but walks and errors in the fifth inning helped Tracy score.

"It was a tougher game than it should have been," Perez said, adding that Manteca’s pitcher had Tracy’s batters off-balance for the entire game.

Robbie Jackman gave up four hits in 4²/3 innings and struck out four. Alex Flores was the winning pitcher with 1²/3 innings, and Ricky Diaz finished the game in the seventh with three strikeouts.

Flores was the big hitter, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

(F) Tracy 14, Manteca 2

West 9, Franklin 5

Once a few of West’s batters hit the ball, everyone picked up on the idea, and West ended up with 15 hits against Franklin High of Elk Grove on Monday.

Josh Thomassen hit two triples and Tyler Shepherd hit another, and Ryan Devencenzi and Kevin Walker each hit doubles.

"We saw some good pitches, and the kids put the bat on them," coach Jim Rice said.

It was a close game through the fifth inning, but in the sixth, West manufactured runs.

Runners got on base through walks, and Anthony Salsedo and Shepherd drove in runs. Devencenzi drove in another with a sacrifice fly.

"We were very patient and worked our way on base," Rice said.

All-tournament honors

Following the Atwater Winton Lions Club tournament last week, West players Anthony Salsedo and Riley Goulding were named to the All-Tournament team. West’s Matt Fontaine also was honored for his pitching efforts.

Tracy’s B.J. O’Brien was tournament MVP, and Stevie Ramos and Vince Canale of Tracy also were named to the All-Tournament team.

(S) Franklin 13, West 5

West had decent pitching from Chris Collins, and the team’s batters did well, with Jordan Devencenzi hitting a triple and Taylor Kruger hitting a double. But eight errors in the field sank the Wolf Pack.

"We just killed ourselves," coach Kenny Serrano said. "We were right in that game, but the errors started happening and everything fell apart."

The loss puts West’s sophomores at 8-7.

(S) West 2, Lincoln 0

In the first game of a doubleheader at West High on Saturday, Mike Carillo shut out the Trojans with two hits over seven innings.

"It’s the best I’ve seen him pitch all year," coach Serrano said.

Lincoln’s pitchers didn’t do badly either, but Clyde Parilla, Marcus Pedrosa, Victor Jovel and Adam Crandall all got hits.

(S) Lincoln 11, West 3

Lincoln built a substantial lead in the fifth inning and took advantage of Wolf Pack errors to win the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at West.

Jesse Hernandez pitched the first 3-1/3 innings for West, and Parilla closed with 3-2/3 innings. Parilla got three hits, including a double and a triple, and Griffin Diaz and Collins also got hits.

(F) Lincoln 6, West 3

Lincoln pitchers held the Wolf Pack to three hits to secure a first-inning lead in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at West High. West put pitchers Alan Silveira, Jeff Rich and D.J. Watson on the mound. Watson, Steven Black and Jason Thomassen were the only West batters to get hits.

The loss puts West at 4-9

(F) West 10, Lincoln 5

The first game of the doubleheader started as a pitcher’s duel. Then it turned into a back-and-forth contest as Lincoln scored two in the top of the third, West responded with four runs and Lincoln scored three more in the fourth and fifth. When the Trojans changed pitchers in the sixth inning, the West batters pounced and scored six runs to take back the lead.

Chris DelDotto went 2-for-4, Jake Peterson went 2-for-3, and D.J. Watson and Joey Wagner also got hits.

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written by Motheroftwoteenageboys , April 02, 2008

The Freshman at West also turned 3 double plays in each game. Great Job guys!!!!!! You don't see that everyday. Wish you could have mentioned it.