Trojans drop to 5th, lose to Pirates

Staff Reports
The Orland Trojans sank to fifth place in the Butte View League standings on Tuesday after dropping a 10-5 decision to the visiting Wheatland Pirates.

The Trojans are 2-7 in league play and 9-11-1 overall. Orland played Gridley in a makeup game on Thursday for the final regular season game. Orland will play on May 9 in the first round of the playoffs on the road against an opponent to be named on Wednesday.

The Trojans were unable to keep the Pirates off of the basepaths on Tuesday as the visitors knocked 17 basehits, including three doubles and a triple. Wheatland had two-run rallies in the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Orland was only able to counter with one-run rallies in the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

In the first, Kyle Ferry singled and scored on a bases-loaded walk. He scored again in the third when he singled and scored on a groundout.

Cole Sampson singled and scored on a Craig Simons basehit in the fifth inning while Kyle Keyawa singled and scored on a groundout in the sixth. Simons scored the final run when he singled, went to third on Alex Galvan’s basehit and scored on a double steal attempt.

The score might have been more lopsided if not for a spectacular defensive effort by Sampson in the sixth. With the bases loaded and just one out, Sampson made a diving catch of a line drive and then threw out the runner at second base for the double play.

Simons was 3-for-3 on the day to lead the Trojan offense. Ferry was 2-for-4 and Keyawa was 2-for-3.

Alex Hernandez took the mound loss.

Colusa 8
Durham 7
The Colusa Redskins got solid output from the bottom part of the lineup on Tuesday to knock off the Durham Trojans and claim sole possession of the Sacramento Valley League championship with a 9-1 record.

The Redskins moved to 19-6 on the season and are currently ranked No. 8 in the Division 5 state rankings by Cal-Hi Sports. Colusa is also ranked No. 1 in the Division 3 playoff rankings, which begin play on May 9. The Redskins will likely host Mt. Shasta in the first round.

Against Durham, No. 9 batter Hayden Meyers, who was recently called up from the JV team, was 1-for 1- with two walks and three runs scored. Meanwhile Spencer Hackney, the No. 8 batter, scored a run in the 8-7 Redskin victory.

Brandon Rader also had a big day, going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Matt Vedo added two RBI while Jeremy Hernandez had the Redskins’ best hit with a first-inning triple.

Vedo went the first five innings to get the win, his ninth of the season. He also closed in on 100 strikeouts for the season as he had six K’s to give him 91 in 67.1 innings pitched.

Cody Bailey pitched the final two innings to get the save. He gave up no runs on two hits with a strikeout.

East Nicolaus 7
Hamilton 4
After winning their last four games by a 20-1 margin, the Hamilton High School baseball team suffered a letdown on Wednesday, falling to East Nicolaus 7-4 in nonleague play.

The Braves scored all four of their runs in the second inning when East Nicolaus gave up four walks and hit two batters. Three of the runs scored on a bases-loaded walk while the other came on a hit batsman with the bases packed.

The rest of the game, however, Hamilton was unable to get the runners home. The Braves left the bases loaded in the first game thanks to a pair of strikeouts. The Braves also had runners at second and third in the fourth and sixth innings but left them stranded.

The Braves had seven hits in the game including a 2-for-4 effort Kyle LaClaire and a double by Jeff Cavins.

The loss drops Hamilton to 14-7, but likely won’t jeopardize their No. 2 seed for the Division 3 playoffs. The Braves are off until May 9 when they will host a first-round playoff game.

Maxwell 12
Champion 0
The Maxwell High School baseball team won its third straight game by shutout, posting a 12-0 victory over the Champion Christian Mustangs on Tuesday.

The win also clinched the North Valley League title for the Panthers, who play host to the Hayfork Timberjacks today starting at 2 p.m. Maxwell is 8-0 in league play and can do no worse than tie for first place. The Panthers are 23-3 overall.

Four Panther pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter at the Mustangs. Mitchell Barsotti, Gustavo Rangel and Hunter Stillwell all threw one no-hit inning while Tyler Wells threw two frames and allowed one hit while striking out three.

Steven Perry led the offense, going 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBI. Stillwell was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double while James Bowen was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI. John Davis also had a pair of hits.

Rangel also had the distinction of playing all nine defensive positions during the game.

Esparto 11
Los Molinos 1
The Bulldogs fell to 2-6 in Mid-Valley League play after losing to the first-place Esparto Spartans on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs had four hits in the loss, including a pair by JC Conrad.

Rio Vista 6
Pierce 5
The Pierce Bears gave up five runs to the Rio Vista Rams in the second inning and were never able to recover in a 6-5 loss in Sacramento Valley League play Tuesday.

The Rams tagged starter Michael Barber for five runs on six hits in the fateful second inning to take a 5-0 lead. The Bears added a single run in the bottom of the inning and then added two more in the third. Rio Vista made it 6-3 with a run in the fifth and Pierce scored two in the sixth to close the gap to 6-5.

Pierce had the tying run at second base in the sixth inning, but a popup to second base ended the threat.

Ottie Harris was 2-for-4 for the Bears, who fall to 2-7 in league play and 8-14 overall. The Bears take on Durham today in the final league game of the season.

Softball
East Nicolaus 13
Hamilton 1
The Hamilton Braves found out why East Nicolaus is ranked No. 2 in the state division 5 rankings by Cal-Hi Sports on Wednesday.

The visiting Spartans scored seven runs in the first inning and six in the seventh to secure a 13-1 win over the Braves.

Hamilton aided the Spartans with six errors and five walks. The Braves (11-18) managed a single run in the second inning when Katie Gordon doubled and scored.

Emiley Stokes took the loss, striking out nine and allowing 10 hits.

Wheatland 27
Orland 0
The Orland High School softball team fell to 0-9 in Butte View League play after losing to Wheatland 27-0 on Tuesday. No other information was available.

Rio Vista forfeit win
over Pierce
The Pierce Bears forfeited their softball game with Rio Vista on Tuesday to a lack of players. The Bears conclude their season today against Durham.

Mercy 6
University Prep 5
The Mercy Warriors won their second straight game and avenged an earlier defeat at the hands of the University Prep Panthers on Tuesday.
Laura Trout and Christian Ordorica each had three hits to lead the Warriors, who improved to 3-3 in league play and 4-6 overall.

The Warriors also bashed four extra-basehits as Ordorica, Trout, Kathryn Ward and Audra Mueller all had doubles.
Becca Elliott picked up the win, giving up five runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts.

The Warriors had lost to the Panthers in their previous meeting 8-5.