Fair Oaks 12, Lodi 2 (League: 6-6, Overall: 16-12-1) - July 8 @ Clark Field, Woodland, Calif. - After losing to Lodi three times during the regular-season, Fair Oaks took out their frustration on Post 22 in the District 6 Playoffs as the Oaks beat Lodi 12-2 to advance in the winner's bracket of the tournament. Lodi scored first off Oaks starter Kevin Jackson as Post 22 put a run on the board in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Lodi center fielder Tyler Stieb drew a walk and then stole second with shortstop Matt Vera at the plate. Vera lined the ball down the left field line to bring in the run, but Jackson got the next batter to fly to right field to end the inning. The Oaks came right back to take the lead in the top of the fourth as third baseman Ryan Hall led off with a hit to right field. Hall moved to second on a softly hit ball by left fielder Mike Nantze that the pitcher fielded near the foul line, tagging Nantze out as he went by. Designated hitter Logan Appledorn moved Hall to third on a ground ball to second and then Hall scored on shortstop Kevin Lyman's double to right field to tie the game at 1-1. Center fielder Aaron Saul-Guzman followed with another double to score Lyman and the Oaks owned a 2-1 lead. Fair Oaks loaded the bases in the fifth after one was out as catcher Shawn Wheeler got a hit to left field. First baseman Shane Rae followed with a walk and then Hall's hit to center put three runners on. Nantze followed with a hit to left to score Wheeler for a 3-1 lead, but then a double play ended the inning and the Fair Oaks threat. It didn't matter, however, as the Oaks continued right where they left off, reloading the bases in the top of the sixth. Lyman led off with a walk and then with one out, second baseman Dustin Vaught was hit by Lodi relief
pitcher Sean Tully's first pitch. Oaks right fielder Alec Strain then sent a fly ball to right center field. Lodi's fielder appeared to have a good shot at it, but then apparently lost it momentarily in the sun and the ball dropped in to load the bases. The next batter, Wheeler, came to the plate and launched a shot over the left field fence for a grand slam home run to give the Oaks a commanding 7-1 lead. Fair Oaks faced a new pitcher in the seventh as Mike Valenzuela took over for Tully. But a fresh arm didn't do anything except serve up more runs for the Oaks as Post 383 scored five more times. Appledorn led off the inning with a ground ball that nearly escaped a dive by Lodi shortstop Matt Vera. Vera knocked the ball down, but didn't make a throw as Appledorn reached first safely. Lyman then hit a ball to right field that was misjudged by Post 22's Andrew Cotton and fell in for a double. Saul-Guzman followed with a double to score Appledorn and Lyman to make it a 9-1 Oaks lead. Vaught, the next batter, bunted, moving Saul-Guzman to third. The ball was fielded by the pitcher, but too late to make a throw to get either runner. Strain then sent a double into right center to score Saul-Guzman and make it a 10-1 game. Wheeler helped close out the Oaks' scoring with a fly to right. Vaught tagged on the catch and came home to score, while Strain also tagged and took off for third. The throw to the bag was close, but it escaped the third baseman and Strain also came home to score to make it a 12-1 game. Lodi faced a do-or-die situation in the bottom of the seventh due to the tournament's 10-Run Rule. Jackson walked the first batter he faced, first baseman Nick Tamarina, and then gave up a hit to second baseman B.J. Bailon which sent Tamarina to third. The next batter grounded to second, with Vaught scooping up the ball and tagging Bailon out as he came in to second. Tamarina came home to score on the play making it a 12-2 game. Jackson struck out the next batter for the second out, but then hit Stieb to put two runners on. Jackson got the next batter to ground to third for a force out to end the game. Jackson struck out eight Lodi batters in recording the seven-inning win.
Fair Oaks:
Pitching - Jackson and Wheeler. Top
Hitters - Saul-Guzman 2x3, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Strain 2x5, 2B; Wheeler 2x3, HR, 5 RBI;
Hall 5x5; Nantze 2x5; Lyman 2x3, 2 2B. |
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