The 2019 baseball season began on Friday afternoon and for the Oakdale High School Mustangs it was a tough 1-0 road loss to Beyer.

It was a difficult outing for the varsity boys as they struggled at the plate and had only two hits in the contest. Singles by seniors Max Moore and Josh Gerber were the only base knocks for the visitors.

The Mustangs did, however, have runners in scoring position multiple times as they left five players on base throughout the game. The Mustangs committed two errors in the contest as well.

On the mound for Oakdale was Brett Maddock who pitched five strong innings. He faced 18 batters and gave up one hit, striking out nine Patriots. Maddock pitched five full innings and Josh Garcia entered the game in the sixth inning. Garcia pitched one full inning and struck out two.

“Our pitching performance was competitive; I was very pleased,” said Mustangs head coach Chris Henry, who is entering his second season as varsity head coach. “Offensively, however, we took too many drivable baseballs and did not capitalize with our runners in scoring position.”

Beyer scored the lone run of the game in the fifth inning when Blake Albino crossed the plate.

Oakdale looks to bounce back this week when they are scheduled to play three more non-conference games. On Wednesday, Feb. 27 Oakdale will host Merced with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. The following day Oakdale returns to the home field when they play Pitman. Saturday morning, March 2 the boys hit the road north to take on Cosumnes Oaks at 11 a.m.

JUNIOR VARSITY

In the team’s season opener it was a 7-1 road win over Beyer. On the mound for the JV Mustangs was Owen Pena, who pitched three scoreless innings and had three strikeouts. Oakdale’s bullpen featured Killian Cooper and Cade Evans who combined for four strong innings. At the plate Brody Ferreira went 3-for-4 with a double and Carson Cripe also had a multi-hit game. The boys will have two home non-conference games this week as they will host both Merced and Pitman. Saturday the boys will travel to Sacramento to take on Cosumnes Oaks at 11 a.m.

FRESHMEN

Oakdale was scheduled to host Beyer on Friday, Feb. 22; however, the Patriots could not fill a team. The boys will travel to Merced on Wednesday, Feb. 27 and will host Cosumnes Oaks this Saturday, March 2 at 11 a.m.