A solid week of action saw the Escalon junior varsity baseball boys win two out of three games, wrapping up preseason action on a high note.

Tuesday, March 12 the boys hosted Patterson and took an 8-1 win off the field.

Winning pitcher Demetrius Teixeira went five innings, struck out 10, allowed just one hit and gave up no runs. He also helped himself at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, three runs scored and two runs batted in.

Cameron LoValvo also was 3-for-4 with two RBI.

“It was a good win to start out the week,” explained head coach Ken Baptista.

Wednesday, the JV Cougars took the field for a game against Enochs and this time were on the wrong end of the score, as the visiting Enochs team put an 11-1 win in the books.

“They scored a run in the first, we scored a run in the first,” Baptista said.

From there, though, it was all downhill for the JV boys.

“They had good pitching, we only had three hits,” the coach noted, with Giavanni Brunetti, LoValvo and Evan Bava collecting those for the Cougars.

One bad defensive inning helped open the door for Enochs to get the bulk of their runs, and the game did go all seven innings.

Having to put that game behind them, the JV boys were back on the diamond for a game at Stagg on Friday, March 15 and got a satisfying victory, a 9-4 decision.

“It was a total team win, we hit the ball well and everyone in the line-up contributed,” said Baptista. “Our pitchers threw strikes, our defense did the job and we hit the ball all over the park.”

Getting the start on the mound was Cam Maruyama, who went three innings, allowing three hits and no runs. Evan Bava pitched two-and-two-thirds and Orion Hoover came in to finish off the game.

“The pitchers got ahead in the counts, they trusted their defense, all the things we have been talking about,” Baptista added. “It was nice to see it come together.”

Offensively, LoValvo was 3-for-4 with a triple, Alex Guevara and J.P. Lial each rapped out triples.

“It was a great win, the best game we’ve played this season,” said the coach.

That left the JV boys with a 4-4 record for preseason and they look to build off the solid game against Stagg as they start Trans-Valley League play this week.

They were scheduled to host Riverbank in the regular season opener on Tuesday, March 19 after The Times went to press, and will play at Riverbank on Thursday, March 21 at 4 p.m.

Also on the schedule is an 11 a.m. game Saturday, March 23, a non-league contest on the road at Oakdale.