1 week Ago By Matt Miller
FAIRFIELD — Rodriguez High School players, coaches, parents and fans gathered around cellphones after Thursday afternoon’s game at Vacaville, awaiting a very important final score on their GameChanger apps from West Sacramento. Rodriguez took care of business on the field with a 13-3 win over Vacaville to finish the Monticello Empire League season 9-3. The Mustangs needed River City to knock off league-leading Pioneer to claim a share of the title.
The Pioneer-River City game went into an extra eighth inning. Pioneer scored a run to take a lead. Much to the pleasure of the Rodriguez faithful, River City rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning to earn a 4-3 win.
Cheers went up among the different groups of people. Rodriguez had its co-championship. “This is one of the best groups of kids I’ve ever coached,” Rodriguez head coach Damien Beasley said.
“I’ve learned this group keeps coming at you. When they see an opening, they widen it a little bit until things begin to snowball.” Rodriguez had a seven-run sixth inning and added four more runs in the seventh to break open what had been a tight game.
The Mustangs improved to 15-8 overall. Pioneer will earn the No. 1 playoff seed out of the MEL, having beaten Rodriguez twice.
But the Mustangs will be playoff-bound at No. 2 and get a banner of their own. “It was really a great team experience,” Sean O’Connell said.
“It feels like when we are at bat that all the guys have our backs and are behind us. I think during this streak we have been playing for each other. We struggled at the start of the season because it felt like we were playing for the stat sheet.
We’ve been playing well at the right time to close out the season.” Drew Beasley and O’Connell had three hits apiece. Beasley had a pair of doubles and drove in four runs.
O’Connell also doubled and knocked in three. Gideon Mayo went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Nick Diaz, Ben Vaughn and Joey Peppard added hits.
Vaughn also had an RBI. Nick Schikore nearly threw a complete game. He worked 6.
2 innings and allowed 10 hits, three earned runs, one walk and had eight strikeouts. Vacaville scored a run in the seventh and had two runners on base, so Justin Gregory was called on to get the final out. Gregory got a popup to end the game.
“I really wanted the complete game badly,” Schikore said, “but when I saw the last hit fall in I knew. I just tried to remain calm today and not let the moment get too big for me and just pitch like I know how to pitch. Every pitch seemed to be working.
” Vacaville will settle for third place at 8-4 and the third playoff spot from the MEL. The Bulldogs were in the race late in the season but lost to Rodriguez Tuesday, 11-10, and again on Thursday. Vacaville is now 15-8 overall.
Dom Yacovetti, Jimmy Mac Niven and Caden Whitten had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs. Yacovetti hit a double. Mac Niven had a double and an RBI.
Whitten also drove in a run. Rome Griego, Isaiah Shahan, Peyton Olds and Diego Corneliuz added hits for Vacaville. Olds and Corneliuz had doubles.
Dallas West pitched 5.2 innings for Vacaville and allowed nine hits, eight earned runs, one walk and had six strikeouts. Nolan Collins pitched one inning in relief and Ethan Williams recorded one out.
Both teams will now close out the regular season with non-league games. The Sac-Joaquin Section playoff pairings will be announced on Saturday, May 3. “We’re really clicking and hitting on all cylinders right now,” head coach Damien Beasley said.
“Everything we have touched has been turning into gold.” And with a little unexpected help from West Sacramento, a red, blue and white MEL championship banner is now coming their way..
