Oakdale junior varsity baseball hosted their annual spring tournament, going 3-0 and taking first place.
The tournament began on Tuesday morning, April 19 as host Oakdale (15-4, 6-2) shut out Merced (0-12, 0-2). Sophomore Marcus Juarez pitched six strong innings in the win, giving up just one hit and striking out 11. Max Moore went 1-for-2 and scored a run, as did Alex Daoud, Preston Gookin and Justin Jericoff.
The following day Oakdale took on Gregori (8-9, 6-2) and tamed the Jaguars 11-4. Sophomore Hayden Knittel went 2-for-2 on the day and brought in five runs to help power Oakdale past Gregori. Knittel was also walked three times. Nathan Womack also provided offense for Oakdale, as the sophomore went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and brought in two runs of his own. Jacob Solorio was credited with the win as he pitched four innings, giving up three hits, one earned run and striking out seven.
Oakdale completed the tournament with a 10-1 victory over Lincoln (1-6-2, 5-1-0) on Friday, April 21. Knittel was strong in the finale against Lincoln, as the hard hitting sophomore went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Solorio went 2-for-3 and delivered two RBI as well. The Mustangs accounted for 14 hits on the day. Josh Garcia earned the win for Oakdale on the mound as the sophomore pitched five innings giving up no runs and only three hits.
The Mustangs returned to Valley Oak League play Tuesday, April 25 on the road against Sierra. The game was held following The Leader’s press time. The JV boys hosts Sierra on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
FRESHMEN
Oakdale’s youngest ball players went to Gregori High School in Modesto for the Lance Johnson Freshman Tournament that began on Monday, April 17 and concluded on Friday, April 21. In the opening game, Oakdale fell to Downey 11-5. They bounced back with a 9-2 victory over host Gregori on Thursday, April 20. The frosh boys could not keep up the momentum in the tournament finale when they fell to Enochs 5-2 on Friday, April 21.
“On the hill, I felt Jaiden Williams, Brett Maddock and Austin Meeks threw very well,” said head coach Joey Machado. “Offensively Jackson Ruvalcaba, Angel Medina and Pedro Acosta continued to swing the bat very well for us.”
The freshmen have six league games left on the season, with five straight on the road. Oakdale traveled to Manteca on Monday afternoon, April 24 to face the Buffaloes. They will take on East Union in a road game, today, Wednesday, April 26 with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. The freshmen return home on Tuesday, May 9 against Manteca in the season finale.
