After closing out the preseason with a win on the road, Escalon's varsity baseball boys fell in their Trans-Valley League opener, also a road game.
They won at Amador on Tuesday, March 11 by a 2-0 margin, though they didn't get on the board until the sixth inning.
"Both teams played very well," said coach Greg Largent. "We hit the ball extremely hard, but right at them."
Escalon, in fact, had just three hits on the day.
In the sixth inning, Jacob Caton got on with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nick Aprile. After an intentional walk was issued to Leighton Pangilinan, Derrick DeFreitas ripped an RBI single, bringing Caton in to score. Thomas Ray then followed with an RBI triple. Ray had two hits on the day.
"John Lopez was our pitcher, he had 10 strikeouts and allowed just one hit, with three walks," Largent noted. "He did a fantastic job."
Each team had one error.
Thursday, the Cougars went to Ripon Christian for the league opener, falling in an 8-6 contest.
"We played ugly," admitted Largent. "We had five errors, dropped fly balls, guys not covering; it was not the day to do that."
Escalon scored one in the first, Caton struck out but the catcher dropped the ball, allowing him to reach first. On the overthrow, he took second. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an Aprile RBI ground out. In the second inning, Ray reached on an error and after one out, Nick Largent reached on an error that allowed Ray to score. Ripon Christian scored one run in the second, with Escalon adding another in the third on a double by Spencer Franceschetti, a sacrifice bunt by Caton and another RBI from Aprile, this time on a single.
"Ripon Christian went ahead with a three-run homer," Largent said of the RC bottom of the third.
They won at Amador on Tuesday, March 11 by a 2-0 margin, though they didn't get on the board until the sixth inning.
"Both teams played very well," said coach Greg Largent. "We hit the ball extremely hard, but right at them."
Escalon, in fact, had just three hits on the day.
In the sixth inning, Jacob Caton got on with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nick Aprile. After an intentional walk was issued to Leighton Pangilinan, Derrick DeFreitas ripped an RBI single, bringing Caton in to score. Thomas Ray then followed with an RBI triple. Ray had two hits on the day.
"John Lopez was our pitcher, he had 10 strikeouts and allowed just one hit, with three walks," Largent noted. "He did a fantastic job."
Each team had one error.
Thursday, the Cougars went to Ripon Christian for the league opener, falling in an 8-6 contest.
"We played ugly," admitted Largent. "We had five errors, dropped fly balls, guys not covering; it was not the day to do that."
Escalon scored one in the first, Caton struck out but the catcher dropped the ball, allowing him to reach first. On the overthrow, he took second. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an Aprile RBI ground out. In the second inning, Ray reached on an error and after one out, Nick Largent reached on an error that allowed Ray to score. Ripon Christian scored one run in the second, with Escalon adding another in the third on a double by Spencer Franceschetti, a sacrifice bunt by Caton and another RBI from Aprile, this time on a single.
"Ripon Christian went ahead with a three-run homer," Largent said of the RC bottom of the third.
