Three games in four days kept the Oakdale varsity baseball team busy this past week. In two of three games, the boys were victorious with a pair of shutout wins; the other was a 4-2 loss to Lincoln on the road.
Oakdale’s first win came on Tuesday, Feb. 28 on the road against Ponderosa where the Mustangs shut out the home team 4-0. Cullen Bearden’s big bat helped power Oakdale at the plate, as the senior delivered two RBI in the win. Fellow senior and signal caller, Bryce Kirk went 2-for-3 and drove in a run as well. Blake Whiting pitched four innings and earned the win for Oakdale, striking out three and allowing two hits in the win.
Thursday the boys continued their road trip and suffered a 4-2 loss to the Trojans. Oakdale jumped out to a 2-0 lead but a three-run inning by the Trojans did the Mustangs in. Senior Vito Rodin went 1-for-3 and scored a run for Oakdale in the loss.
The team showed its resiliency by bouncing back in front of the home crowd on Friday afternoon. Oakdale scored four runs in the sixth inning to pull away from the Bear Creek Bruins. Senior Tyler Hall swung a big bat as he went 3-for-3 and collected an RBI in the team’s 5-0 victory. Junior Dylan Wright had a three-RBI bases clearing double in the sixth.
Nick Moore also had a big day for Oakdale, as the senior went 2-for-3 and scored a run.
“We had a long week, long bus rides, but it feels good to be home and to finish this three game stretch. As far as the game goes, our hits came through today. We put up seven hits as a team and when you do that, you should be able to win games. That’s what we did here today,” said Moore, who is batting .455 and has four RBI on the young season.
Following a busy week, the Mustangs gear up for a three day tournament in Turlock for the annual Pedretti Park Tournament beginning on Thursday, March 9 and concluding Saturday afternoon.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The JV Mustangs defeated Ponderosa 8-6 on the road and defeated visiting Bear Creek 8-4. Sandwiched in between was a tough 5-3 road loss to Lincoln. In the road loss Oakdale led 3-1 heading into the sixth inning but the Trojans posted four runs in the bottom half of the inning to pull ahead 5-3. Oakdale will travel to Modesto to take part in the three day Gregori Tournament this week. Oakdale’s first game will be held on Thursday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m.
FRESHMEN
Oakdale fell to Ponderosa on Tuesday, Feb. 28 by a final of 12-7. Oakdale scored all seven runs in the first inning but could not hang on. The team followed up with a hard fought 11-7 loss to Bear Creek. The youngest baseball Mustangs are currently hosting their tournament. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 7 and will conclude on Thursday, March 9.
