Fair Oaks 8, Elk Grove 5 (League: 17-4, Overall: 31-7) - July 16 @ Renfree Field - Eureka! They found it! A way to get to Eureka for the Area One playoffs, at least.
    All Fair Oaks needed to do was gain a victory over Elk Grove to advance to the Area One playoffs in Eureka and that's exactly what Post 383 did as they defeated Elk Grove 8-5 in the semi-finals of the District 6 Championships.
    Of course, a loss would have ended the Oaks' season, so Post 383 showed the team they were and came up with the victory.
    Sophomore Adam Moshofsky had perhaps his best outing ever, pitching a complete game and getting out of several tight situations against the heavy-hitting Elk Grove team.
    The Oaks jumped on Elk Grove starter Mike Forsyth for four runs in the first inning as catcher B.J. Crone led off with a hit to left field.
    First baseman Jim Ott followed with a walk and then shortstop Garrett Schoenfelder was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
    Cleanup hitter Jason Wilkerson was also hit to force in Crone for a 1-0 lead and then third baseman Justin Hoppes' ground ball to second scored Ott to make it 2-0.
    Schoenfelder and Wilkerson scored on second baseman Ricky Patel's hit to right center to give the Oaks a 4-0 advantage.
    Elk Grove loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but failed to score and the Oaks came back for four more runs in the top of the second inning.
    Left fielder Bryan Lynch led off with a walk and then with one out, walks to Ott and Schoenfelder loaded the bases.
    Wilkerson followed with a hit to center field, scoring Lynch and driving Forsyth from the mound.
    The new pitcher, Brad Crandall, got a ground ball out of Hoppes, but the throw from third to second was thrown away and both Ott and Schoenfelder scored for a 7-0 lead.
    The next batter, Patel, hit a ball to short. The throw went to second, but was juggled and Wilkerson scored to make it an 8-0 game.
    Elk Grove went out in order in the bottom of the inning, including two strikeouts by Moshofsky.
    Post 233 did come back to score four runs in the third, however, to cut the Oaks lead in half, and added a fifth run in the fourth to make it an 8-5 game. That was to be all Elk Grove would get, however, as both teams were shut out the rest of the way.
    Moshofsky held Elk Grove to only two hits and two walks the rest of the way, including a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth.     Fair Oaks wasted several opportunites to score down the stretch, including a two out double by Nick Palumbo in the sixth and a leadoff double by Wilkerson in the eighth.
    Fortunately, the runs weren't needed, and Moshofsky and the Oaks recorded the win to advance to the championship game on Thursday against unbeaten No. 7 seed Charles Eggen.
    Originally, an "if necessary" game had been scheduled to follow Thursday's first game should the loser's bracket team win.
    Due to a schedule conflict, however, Friday's All-Star game was moved to the Thursday slot scheduled for that game and if Fair Oaks wins its meeting against Charles Eggen, a co-championship will be declared and the Area One seeding will be decided by a coin toss.
    In any case, both teams will advance to the July 24-27 Area One Tournament in Eureka.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
FAIR OAKS	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	9	2
ELK GROVE	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	10	2

Fair Oaks: Moshkofsky and Crone. Top hitters: Schoenfelder 2x3; Wilkerson 2x4, 2B, 3 RBI; Patel 2 RBI; Palumbo 2B.
Elk Grove: Forsyth, Crandall (2), Marzion (8) and Tonis. Top hitters: Rose 2x4; Fender 3x5, 2 RBI; Tonis 4x5, 2B.