Closing out the regular season with a pair of wins, the Escalon varsity baseball boys finished tied for second place in the Trans-Valley League this season.
They compiled a league mark of 11-4, same as Ripon Christian, finishing a game behind league champion Hughson, which was 12-3. It was the first time in four years the Cougars didn't claim the title, but head coach Greg Largent said he was pleased with the way the team came together for the stretch run, shaking off some tough losses at midseason to finish strong. They head into the playoffs as the number three seed, though, as Ripon Christian had the tiebreaker against them, wining two out of the three games they played. The Cougars were slated to face off with the Mother Lode League champions Bret Harte Bullfrogs on Tuesday night, May 13 after The Times went to press. Top seed Hughson takes on Mother Lode number three Linden on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and runner up Ripon Christian was slated to play Western Athletic Conference champion Central Catholic on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The other Wednesday game has WAC #2 Gustine against MLL #2 Calaveras. Games are at Zupo Field in Lodi.
"We're on a good winning streak," Largent said, with the wins over Ripon propelling them into playoffs on a high note.
Tuesday, they hosted Ripon and got the early lead, scoring a run in the first on a walk to Spencer Franceschetti, a sacrifice bunt by Charlie McDonald and an RBI double from Leighton Pangilinan.
Eventually, the Cougars took a 7-3 win from the Indians.
"In the second inning, we sent 13 to the plate," Largent said. Keys were some Ripon errors, allowing runs to score, along with RBIs from Nick Aprile, Jake Caton and Nick Largent.
They compiled a league mark of 11-4, same as Ripon Christian, finishing a game behind league champion Hughson, which was 12-3. It was the first time in four years the Cougars didn't claim the title, but head coach Greg Largent said he was pleased with the way the team came together for the stretch run, shaking off some tough losses at midseason to finish strong. They head into the playoffs as the number three seed, though, as Ripon Christian had the tiebreaker against them, wining two out of the three games they played. The Cougars were slated to face off with the Mother Lode League champions Bret Harte Bullfrogs on Tuesday night, May 13 after The Times went to press. Top seed Hughson takes on Mother Lode number three Linden on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and runner up Ripon Christian was slated to play Western Athletic Conference champion Central Catholic on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The other Wednesday game has WAC #2 Gustine against MLL #2 Calaveras. Games are at Zupo Field in Lodi.
"We're on a good winning streak," Largent said, with the wins over Ripon propelling them into playoffs on a high note.
Tuesday, they hosted Ripon and got the early lead, scoring a run in the first on a walk to Spencer Franceschetti, a sacrifice bunt by Charlie McDonald and an RBI double from Leighton Pangilinan.
Eventually, the Cougars took a 7-3 win from the Indians.
"In the second inning, we sent 13 to the plate," Largent said. Keys were some Ripon errors, allowing runs to score, along with RBIs from Nick Aprile, Jake Caton and Nick Largent.
