Yolo scored three runs off of the same Fair Oaks pitcher - Cody Osburn, a soft-throwing lefty with a hard-breaking curveball - who shut them out a week ago when the breaks, and the ball, went their way.
    Throw in a stingy, errorless defensive effort behind a strong performance from starting pitcher Brendan Gill, and Yolo now has a one-game lead over Fair Oaks in District 6 play after a 3-1 win at Clark Field.
    Yolo (23-5) scored all three of their runs in the third inning after a fortunate sequence of events. Shawn Reynolds led off the inning with a high, routine fly ball into right field but the ball popped out of Bryce Bandilla's glove.
    Anthony Richmond hit a sharp single to left field, Garret Wright reached on a fielders choice and Cody Keefer drew a walk to load the bases with two outs.
    Mike Turay hit a flare to right field that barely stayed fair, driving in two runs. Joe Whitehead drew a walk to load the bases again and Keefer scored on a wild pitch. Game, set, and possibly the top seed in District 6.
    Aside from the deciding third inning, Yolo only had runners in scoring position two other times in the seven-inning game.
    "It was almost total luck," Turay said. "They made some key errors, we drew some key walks, and that was it. But those were the little things that weren't going right for us and was for them (in two previous Yolo losses)."
    Added Yolo coach Matt Castles: "We've struggled against soft-throwing lefties. Basically the difference was just a flare and Bandilla (dropped) that fly ball... We only did just enough to win."
    Gill, who fell on the short end of last week's pitching duel with Osburn, gave up four hits - two in the first inning - and pitched into the seventh inning before giving up a leadoff walk and a single.
    "Every little thing we can get helps," Gill said. "It's like this every time we play them."
    After Gill put the first two runners on in the top of the seventh, Marcus Zuercher took over and struck out two of the three batters he faced to finish to pick up Gill.
    For Zuercher, it was a dominant finish and a whirlwind final two innings. He went to the bullpen to warm up in the sixth in case Gill got in trouble, but returned to the dugout after Gill retired the side in order. Zuercher expected to start on Saturday and with Zach Vawter-Scoggins warming up in the bullpen, he didn't expect to be summoned in the seventh.
    "I didn't think I was going to go in at all," Zuercher said. "I wasn't really ready, I only had about five or six pitches to get hot.
    "It was cool though, it was a big win against our biggest rivals. I was the closer my junior year (at Davis High School), so I've been in that situation plenty of times before."
    Castles reasoned that once two runners got on, he figured Fair Oaks (20-4) would try and bunt, so he wanted someone who could keep the ball down. It only took Zuercher 11 pitches to get out of the jam, all of which were around the knees.
    Castles said that they still have plenty of work to do before reaching the postseason, but was especially pleased with their defense - particularly newly returned catcher Turay and shortstop Adrian Perez. Turay had been away from the team briefly until last week.
    "With Turay instantly we get one of the best catchers in the area," Castles said. "He blocks everything behind the plate and no one will try and run on him... (Perez) made about three or four running plays (Thursday) that he was having some difficulties with previously."