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Baseball Teams Get One Game In During Rainy Week
McCrary pix
Escalon varsity baseball coach Greg Largent, right, goes over some strategy with Tanner McCrary in recent action at home. McCrary had a big game against Stagg, helping lift the Cougars to a 5-1 win on Friday night. Marg Jackson/The Times

Wednesday’s scheduled game against Manteca was washed out, but the Cougar JV and varsity baseball teams were able to play on Friday night, March 16. They traveled to Stagg High School to get in a game at the all-weather field.

Escalon’s varsity Cougars took a 5-1 win over the host Stagg squad.

“We were happy to get on the field after being in the gym all week,” head coach Greg Largent said of the varsity squad. “There were a lot of cobwebs, we were a little rusty.”

The host team took the lead in the second inning, scoring a run on three singles and a wild pitch on a strikeout. The runner from third was able to come in on the passed ball to make it 1-0, but that was the only run they would get during the contest.

Escalon came back with two in the fourth and one run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

In the two-run fourth as the Cougars took the lead, Zach Abraham doubled, went to third on a Colton Lowney single and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Paul Ayala. Tanner McCrary then connected on a two-out, two-strike double to drive in Lowney.

Stagg miscues contributed to the rest of the scoring by the varsity Cougars.

In the fifth, Parker Cosby reached on an error that saw him get to second base, moved up on an out and crossed the plate on a Lucca Dutra sacrifice fly RBI.

Lowney reached on an error in the sixth inning and McCrary drove him in with a two-out single.

In the seventh inning, Dutra reached on an error, Nash Satnat moved him over with a sacrifice bunt and Abraham rapped out an RBI single to get the fifth run home for the Cougars.

Largent said the team did a good job manufacturing the insurance runs after getting the lead.

“They actually outhit us,” the coach added of Stagg, noting that the host team had one run on eight hits and committed four errors. Escalon had five runs on seven hits, committing two errors in the game.

Abraham had an outstanding game for the Cougars, said Largent, with a 3-for-4 night with two doubles and a run batted in.

“McCrary also came up with some big clutch hits for a couple of RBIs,” the coach added.

Also notching hits for the Cougars were Lowney and Cosby.

Lowney got the start on the mound for Escalon and went four innings, giving up seven hits and one run with seven strikeouts. Anthony LaRossa came on in relief and pitched three strong innings.

“It was his best outing of the year, he was very sharp,” Largent said.

LaRossa allowed one hit and struck out two.

Escalon was scheduled to travel to Patterson for non-league action on Tuesday, March 20 after The Times went to press. The varsity is also scheduled to play a 10 a.m. game Saturday, March 24 at Banner Island Ballpark against East Union. Admission will be charged.

 

JUNIOR VARSITY

After going all week without a game because of the inclement weather, the JV boys got a strong start on the mound from Luke Anderson to shut down Stagg and get the 8-0 non-league win on Friday.

“Luke pitched really well,” head coach Ken Baptista said.

He had to pull the freshman after five innings because of the pitch count, but Anderson was stellar, striking out 12 and allowing no hits in his five innings of work.

Zack Hearn pitched the final two innings in relief, not allowing any runs.

“Hitting wise, Brad Hagglund was 2-for-3 with two RBI, Clayton Ferreira was 1-for-4 with two RBI,” Baptista added. “We scored five in the third, we hit around that inning, then got two in the fourth, one in the fifth.”

Weather permitting, the JV boys head to Patterson on Tuesday, March 20 for non-league action and then are scheduled to host East Union on Friday, March 23 with a 3:45 p.m. start.