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Varsity Baseball Wins Trio Of Preseason Games
maddock
Mustang Brett Maddock heads up the first base line as he watches a hit drop into the outfield on Thursday afternoon against Atwater. Maddock was the winning pitcher for Oakdale, going five strong innings. Photo By Marg Jackson

Enjoying a 3-0 start to the season, the Oakdale High School varsity baseball boys have taken wins at home and on the road.

The Mustangs began their season on Tuesday, March 3 with a 3-1 victory over Pitman in Turlock. The road win saw five different batters get hits as Dom McDonald, Dom Antinetti, Garrett Lee, Austin Meeks and Preston Vieira all put the bat on the ball. Noah Chelberg got the win as he pitched three innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three. Nathan Criswell started the game, pitching four innings giving up just one run and striking out six.

Thursday, March 5 the boys hosted Atwater and defeated the Falcons 5-2. Chelberg had two hits and brought in two runs. McDonald, Antinetti, Brett Maddock, Joey Janssen, Meeks and Carson Cripe each had a hit. McDonald had two RBI and Meeks added one. Maddock got the win as he pitched five strong innings, striking out seven batters.

Friday, March 6 Oakdale earned their third straight win as they defeated rival Sonora 11-3. The home win saw Oakdale’s bats come alive as they had over a dozen hits. Four of those hits came off the bat of Meeks, who also had five RBI and a double. Maddock and Lee each had two hits. McDonald, Antinetti, Chelberg, Andres Guerrero and Vieira each had one hit. Vieira launched a 344 foot RBI double to help put away the Wildcats. Chelberg earned the win, pitching five innings striking out four batters.

This week the team took on Merced on the road Tuesday, March 10 following The Leader’s press time. On Friday, March 13 the boys host Modesto in the final preseason game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 18 the team opens up the regular season as they host Kimball at 4 p.m. to begin Valley Oak League play.

 

JUNIOR VARSITY

Oakdale’s JV boys are 1-2 to start the preseason. They lost to Pitman 11-1 in just four innings. They bounced back with a 7-2 win over Lodi and lost to Sonora 6-2.

 

FRESHMEN

Oakdale edged Gregori 6-5. Cade Galuppi pitched four innings giving up five hits. Brock Osmundson went 2-for-2 with a double and a stolen base. Keegan Cooper connected on a game-winning walk-off single.

“We did a real good job of getting runners on base and scoring them. We took advantage of timely hitting and extra bases,” said head coach Stephan Aguilar. “It was a good team win, everyone contributed. Keegan came in clutch to get the win as a pitcher and also hitting in the game winner.”

However, Oakdale would lose their next two games as they fell to Pitman 7-6 and Lodi 5-3. Against Pitman, Jace Grandstaff went 2-for-3 with a double. Cooper Pitney and Alex Jones each had an RBI.

“Pitman got on us early and really put us up against the wall scoring five runs within the first three innings, but we fought back to the best of our ability. I liked what I saw out of our team, they never gave up,” said Aguilar. “We rallied and scratched run for run. It was a hard fought game, and I’m happy with how our guys responded even though the result was not what we wanted.”

Against Lodi Osmundson, Jones and Nick Dykzeul each had two hits in the loss. Lodi grabbed the win with a three-run uprising in the seventh inning.

McDonald
Coming on in relief in Thursday’s home game against Atwater, Oakdale senior Dom McDonald sends the pitch toward the plate. The Mustangs were 5-2 winners over the Falcons. Photo By Marg Jackson