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Varsity Nine Win One, Lose One In League
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One win, one loss went on the books for the Escalon varsity baseball team this week, the squad dropping its first game of the season on Thursday.

"Our bubble burst," said head coach Bob Loureiro, whose team had rolled off eight straight wins before taking the tough loss.

Still, they opened Trans-Valley League play with a 10-5 win at Hughson on Tuesday, March 16, rapping out 12 hits.

"It was kind of a slugfest between the two teams," Loureiro noted. "We came out fast on the them, then they tied it up, we came back...it was a good win."

Escalon scored a run in the first as Jesse Miguel doubled to lead off the game, stole third and scored on an RBI double from Ross Brayton. They made it 3-0 in the second. Anthony Suniga singled and was sacrificed to second by Brian Lynn. Nate Williamson doubled home Suniga, then scored himself on an error.

Hughson got two back in the bottom of the third, with three hits and an error accounting for the runs.

Escalon made it 4-2 in the top of the fourth, Lynn walked and went to second on a passed ball, Miguel doubled him home with a two-out hit.

But the Huskies were relentless, tying the game on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, knotting it at 4-4.

"In the fifth inning, K.J. Vandagriff homered on the first pitch to give us a 5-4 lead," Loureiro noted. "Then Suniga walked, Lynn walked and Williamson hit a three-run homer."

That gave the Cougars a lead they would not relinquish, although Hughson scratched out one more run in the sixth. Escalon added two in the top of the seventh to seal the win.

Suniga got on with a fielders choice and stole second, coming home on Lynn's RBI single. Williamson got on with a single and scored on a hit by Colin Riggs.

"Zachary Swass started the game for us, he went four innings and gave up three earned runs," said Loureiro. "Mike Johansen came on in relief and he got the win, he pitched three innings."

The Cougars had 12 hits and made three errors, Hughson had 10 hits and two errors.

At home for a game with Livingston on Thursday, the Cougars were shut out by the visiting Wolves, 2-0.

"It was just one of those days, everything we hit went right at them," Loureiro explained.

Each team managed just two hits but the Cougars made three errors that contributed to the scoring. The loss gave them a 1-1 mark in league.

"That was the first time we've been held under 10 hits this season," the coach pointed out. "It was a fast played game, not many hits or walks."

Livingston scored a run in the fourth, capitalizing on a hit batsmen, an error and a fielders choice. They added one more in the fifth on an error, a wild pitch and a single.

Johansen took the hard-luck loss, allowing just two hits in seven innings pitched.

Collecting the only hits for Escalon were Miguel, a double and Vandagriff, a single. Suniga walked twice and had a sacrifice, with no official at-bats in his trips to the plate.

"The loss was disappointing but Livingston just played a little bit better than we did," Loureiro said. "When you don't score, you can't have any errors."

The Cougars entered this week at 8-1 overall and will play two non-league games. They were scheduled to host Argonaut on Tuesday, March 23 and will play host to Calvary Temple on Friday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m.

By MARG JACKSON