Bulldogs claim Northern Section D-5 baseball championship
The Los Molinos varsity baseball team defeated Biggs High School, 11-1, on Saturday afternoon to claim the Northern Section Division V championship behind a potent offense and a dominant pitching performance.
The Bulldogs' (23-5) offense did its damage in the first three innings of the contest, while pitcher Clayton Raimer was dominant the entire day.
In five innings, the Bulldog hurler pitched five innings of seven-hit ball, allowed just one earned run, and struck out five without walking a Wolverine batter at Butte College.
Raimer allowed two of his seven hits in the first inning. After two men were out, he was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
That wasn't true for Biggs (22-6), as Brayden Weibling opened the inning with a single, and the next two hitters walked to load the bases to start the bottom of the first.
After Biggs pitcher Dennis Dewhurst was able to retire the next two hitters, sophomore Brody Fimea reached on a fielder's choice to score Weibling to open the scoring. That's when Dakota Demarco drilled a bases-clearing double to left field to give the Reimer all the runs he would need to win the game.
Quinten Maxwell, Weibling, and Parker Heitman all singled to open the bottom of the second, loading the bases for Wyatt Gillett, who walked to push the lead to 5-0. That brought up Kyson Button, and on the first pitch to him, a passed ball scored Weibling to make it 6-0.
Button then delivered an RBI single, scoring Heitman, and it was 7-0. Fimea then laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Gillette for an 8-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning, the Wolverines got on the board thanks to a one-out double by Brayden Martin and a single by Dewhurst. Jaiden Bandy then singled home Martin to get the Wolverines on the scoreboard. But Raimer was able to retire the next two hitters to extinguish the threat.
Dewhurst started the bottom of the third in good shape by retiring the first two hitters he faced; He walked Weibling, who stole second on the first pitch to Heitmann. After a pick off attempt at second was unsuccessful, Weibling then stole second and scored to make it 9-0.
Heitmann then walked and moved to second on an infield single by Gillett. That set up Raimer's two-run double to make the lead 11-1.
Raimer then retired six of the last eight hitters he faced, clinching the section title for the Bulldogs, who now await the NorCal playoff seedings. Bulldogs often scored their 11 runs on nine hits, with Weibling the only one getting two.
Softball loses final to East Nicolaus
The softball team lost to East Nicolaus (25-1) on Saturday in the section final, 8-2, after it rallied on Thursday to claim its spot in the final. The Bulldogs took an early lead on Saturday in the top of the second inning, thanks to one out, a walk to Natalia Garcia, and a single by Brooklynn Ross, putting runners at first and second. Paige Alexander grounded into a fielder's choice and advanced to second, while Garcia came around to score to give the visitors an early lead.
The Bulldogs (24-5-1) held on to that slim lead through the first three innings as pitcher Addison Jones held the Spartans scoreless in the first three innings, retiring nine of the first 11 batters that she faced. The bottom of the fourth started off well for Jones as she gave up a single but retired the next two hitters before allowing a two-out RBI double to tie the game.
But in the bottom of the 5th, the Spartans scored two runs on two errors by Los Molinos, giving them a 2-1 lead. They would score twice more, taking a 4-1 lead.
The Bulldogs did respond in the top of the 6th inning to score on a pair of one-out doubles by Zoey Zdeb and Garcia to cut the deficit back to 4-2. However, the Spartans scored four runs in the bottom of the 6th on three hits, a walk, and one error to make it 8-2 and claim the championship.
Despite the loss, Jones pitched well. In six innings, she allowed nine hits, and of the eight runs she gave up, only two were earned. She walked just one hitter and struck out 8.
After losing to the Spartans to open the Division V playoffs on Thursday, the Bulldogs defeated Biggs 8-2 and Quincy 16-2 to win the consolation title before advancing to Saturday's game against the Spartans.
In the victory over Biggs, Jones tossed a complete game three-hitter, allowing two runs, both earned, and she struck out 8, walking just one
Ross led the way in that one, collecting three hits, including a double in four at-bats, and driving in a pair of runs. Kynli Stower, Natalia Garcia, and Zdeb all pitched in with two hits each, while Garcia drove in two runs.
Jones was just as dominant in their 16-2 win over Quincy, pitching five innings of four-hit ball, allowing two runs, both earned. She walked a pair and struck out six.
While Jones was holding the Trojans from the Circle, the Bulldogs' offense was dominant, scoring 16 runs on 14 hits and three walks. Paige Williams, Addyson Morgan Ricker, Natalie Garcia, Stower, Jones, and Zdeb all collected two hits in the consolation final win.
Natalie Garcia drove in four runs while Stower and Jones collected three. Karina Garcia, Zdeb, and Ross all drove in one run each.
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