Baseball, softball, track and field athletes stay busy

Mustang Landon Schutte celebrates after crossing home plate, blasting a three-run homer to put the host Oakdale High varsity squad ahead in the May 9 quarterfinal game against East Union. Oakdale took the win, 8-5. Jeff Kettering/The Leader

L Schutte — Mustang Landon Schutte celebrates after crossing home plate, blasting a three-run homer to put the host Oakdale High varsity squad ahead in the May 9 quarterfinal game against East Union. Oakdale took the win, 8-5. Jeff Kettering/The Leader

Action continues for some Mustang spring sports athletes, even as the school year itself winds down. Following is a recap of some recent competition.

BASEBALL

The second seeded Oakdale High School varsity baseball Mustangs earned a pair of victories to start their postseason run. In the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs, Oakdale opened up with a 10-0 shutout of the number 15 seed Los Banos Tigers in a Wednesday, May 7 contest.

Jordan Haver hit a two-run home run to help power the Mustangs past Los Banos. Griffin Costa scored three runs and had two hits including a double. Peyton Wallace and Landon Schutte also had two hits in the win. Schutte pitched a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts, giving up just three hits.

They followed up the first round with an 8-5 quarterfinal home win over the number seven seed and Valley Oak League rival East Union.

Oakdale swept the Lancers in the regular season and continued their dominance in the postseason. The Mustangs used a five run fifth inning to pull away from East Union in the Friday, May 9 contest. The long ball came into play for Oakdale as Schutte hit a home run that brought in three runs. Wallace drove in two runs on two hits. A trio of Mustangs took to the mound as Haver started the game for Oakdale and gave up four earned runs. Wallace surrendered five hits and gave up one earned run. Ayden Ardis closed the game with one clean inning.

Oakdale advanced with the wins to the best-of-three semifinal series, facing off against Roseville. The number three seed Tigers defeated number 14 Beyer, 5-1, in the opening round and took down number 11 Sierra by an 8-3 decision in the quarterfinals. Meeting for the opener of the semifinal series on Monday, May 12, it was the Tigers walking off with a lopsided win, 13-1, over Oakdale. Game two date and time was still to be determined; it takes two wins to advance to the championship round. Top seed Bradshaw Christian and number five seed Del Campo are on the other side of the bracket and Bradshaw Christian got a 9-5 win in their opening contest in the best-of-three series.

SOFTBALL

Entering the second season after a third-place finish, 7-5, in the Valley Oak League, the varsity Lady Mustangs are looking to get on a winning streak. The 2025 playoffs are here and the Oakdale High School softball squad goes in as the fifth seed in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 tournament. The field is set with 16 teams. On Wednesday, May 14, Oakdale is scheduled to host number 12 seed Bear Creek at 4 p.m.

Bear Creek (Stockton) finished in first place in the San Joaquin Athletic Association League. They went 17-4 overall on the year and won their last two games in shutout fashion, outscoring their opponents 27-0.

Oakdale compiled an overall record of 14-10 on the season and is riding a three-game winning streak.

Other first round match ups in the D3 tournament are top seed Central Catholic hosting number 16 seed Johnson; number two Vanden hosting number 15 Christian Brothers; No. 3 Ponderosa vs. No. 14 Antelope; No. 4 Manteca vs. No. 13 Armijo; No. 6 Merced vs. No. 11 Patterson; No. 7 Roseville vs. No. 10 West Park; and No. 8 Vista del Lago hosting No. 9 Dixon.

Should Oakdale notch an opening round victory at home on May 14, they will face the winner of the Manteca-Armijo game on Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.

Semifinals will be May 20 with the championship game scheduled for Saturday, May 24.

TRACK AND FIELD

Oakdale High School competed in the Valley Oak League Championship held at Mountain House on Thursday, May 8. Oakdale’s varsity girls took first place with a team score of 179. Second place went to host Mountain House at 124 and third place was Sierra with 58. For the varsity boys, it was a third-place finish. Manteca took first with 124, followed by Mountain House at 105 and Oakdale was just one point behind at 104. The following athletes placed in the top five of their events.

VARSITY GIRLS

400 Meters: Kinsley Alves 1:05.08 (fifth place)

800 Meters: Kylie Fast 2:24.54 (first place); Bradie Evans 2:26.55 (second)

1600 Meters: Addison Wylie 5:22.25 (second place)

3200 Meters: Addison Wylie 11:37.64 (second place); Taylor Reams 12:04.38 (fourth); Bradie Evans 12:07.48 (fifth)

110 Meter Hurdles: Danika Savage 15.89 (first place); Gianna Carroll 16.81(second); Emma Weber 17.52 (third)

300 Meter Hurdles: Danika Savage 48.19 (first place)

4x100 Relay: Third place

4x400 Relay: First place

4x800 Relay: Third place

Shot Put: Samantha Powell 38' 3” (first place) Natalie Powell 37' 5" (second)

Discus: Natalie Powell 113' 0" (first place); Samantha Powell 106' 0"(second)