The Escalon ‘A’ team of varsity baseball players crafted a winning week, going 3-0-1 in their four games.

They were at the Steve Streeter Tournament at Enochs High School, opening up with a doubleheader on Tuesday, June 11 when the temperature hit triple digits.

“We started off with a 12-3 win over Orestimba,” said head coach Greg Largent. “Ty Harris pitching four innings, Gio (Giavanni) Brunetti also threw a couple of innings. Luke Anderson and Demetrius Teixeira hit the ball extremely well.”

The second game of the day was a 12-5 win over Modesto High School, featuring a complete game victory for Clay Evans on the mound.

“He did a great job and Ty Harris had three hits in the game,” Largent said.

Wednesday, the Cougars took on Beyer and got the bats going once again, this time taking a 15-8 win.

“We scored eight in the first inning, hitting became very contagious,” said the coach.

Anderson, Teixeira and Clayton Ferreira all had great at-bats during the game while Bryce McPherrin added a couple of hits and Dylan Ruiz had another strong game in the leadoff position, Largent said, where he provided a spark throughout the week.

Rounding out the action with a game against Oakdale, the Cougar ‘A’ team took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Ruiz reached on an error, then Harris put down a bunt. After a passed ball moved both runners up, Anderson connected on a sacrifice fly to make it a 1-0 Escalon lead.

“We got great pitching from Ethan Johnson, he threw a complete game,” Largent said.

Escalon held the lead for most of the game but a late run by Oakdale, coming after a couple of Cougar miscues and a timely base hit, made it 1-1.

“We got a leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh by Cam Maruyama but couldn’t advance him,” Largent said of settling for a 1-1 tie with the Mustangs.

The tournament also marked the debut of Gino Franceschetti in a head coaching role, as Largent said he “let him have the reins” with the varsity group.

“I was able to stay in the dugout,” noted Largent. “I sat back and watched Gino do a great job.”

With JV head coach Ken Baptista out of the area during the week, Largent said they utilized a number of coaches to work with the ‘B’ team JV players.

Stepping in to help lead the way was Matt Anderson, a longtime JV coach at Sierra, with a number of Escalon varsity assistants helping out with both teams as much as possible.

The B team won one and lost three this week, defeating Central Valley and falling to Enochs in a close one, 7-6, as well as taking losses to Johansen and Gregori.

“They’re getting better, getting the feel for this,” said Largent. “They’re a work in progress.”

The younger team will host the Bob Loureiro Tournament this week in Escalon, playing all their games with an 8:45 a.m. start time.

The A team will be at Gregori for a tournament.

“The chemistry is getting good, we’re having fun and learning,” Largent said.