Fifth-inning homer powers Oakdale over East Union, into D-III semifinal
The Oakdale baseball team had its back against the wall and nothing was going for it offensively. The Mustangs trailed Valley Oak League rival East Union 5-3 in the fifth inning. The same team that Oakdale swept during league play had already forced a pitching change, drew seven walks and was on a run, scoring four unanswered runs over the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Then, with one out and a runner on base, Landon Schutte happened.
'In the last at bat, (East Union pitcher Joe Alvarez) was going straight fastballs so I knew one was coming at some point and I just missed it the at bat before,' Schutte said.
He wouldn't miss it again.
The Georgia commit launched a fly ball deep to straightaway center field. By the time the ball touched the ground, it was over the fence in the deepest part of the field at Oakdale High, tying the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV quarterfinals between the No. 2 Mustangs (21-9) and No. 7 Lancers (15-15) at five runs apiece and giving the Mustangs all the momentum they needed. They then loaded the bases later in the inning and scored three more runs, securing the 8-5 win and punching their ticket to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals series that starts Monday.
Once the ball left the bat, everyone knew it was gone. Especially Schutte.
'I've hit a few of those where you can just feel it off the bat, and I knew it,' he said.
It was just the latest heroic act the Mustangs saw from one of America's top prospects. In their playoff opener, Schutte pitched a three-hit shutout against Los Banos and struck out 13 batters. After hitting his seventh home run Friday, Schutte is now tied for third in the section and he is top 10 in the SJS in RBI (36). On the mound, he has eight wins and boasts a 0.80 earned run average, 14th in the section.
'He's special,' Oakdale coach Joey Machado said. 'That was a big knock and you just felt the mojo go our way again.'
A five-run Mustangs fifth inning was the difference between a semifinals appearance and a second-round exit.
Fresno State-bound Jordan Haver started the game but gave up seven walks and four runs across his three-inning appearance. Both teams traded runs and by the end of the fourth inning, East Union held its two-run lead. Schutte drove in the Mustangs' opening run on a single and capped his three-RBI day with the home run. After Schutte's home run, Haver was hit by a pitch, Ayden Ardis walked and Niki Jones reached on an error to load the bases. Gavin Wyatt drove in a run in the ensuing at bat, and a Peyton Wallace single drove in the two final insurance runs.
'They knew us, we knew them. This shows how good our league is,' Machado said of playing East Union for a fourth time this season. 'To have this many teams playing and the fact that we're moving on is awesome. I'm just super-proud of my boys for handling adversity.'
The Mustangs will play in their second straight section semifinal. The series kicks off Monday when the higher seed Mustangs host No. 3 Roseville. The series shifts to Roseville on Wednesday for Game 2 and Oakdale will host the if-necessary Game 3 Friday.
Three pitchers took the mound for Oakdale on Friday and each brought something different. Payton Wallace pitched three innings and Ardis closed out the game.
With three games in one week, having a pitching staff with multiple players who can give quality innings is key to advancing. That's where Machado feels the VOL sets its teams up for postseason success. Not only is it one of the most competitive leagues in the section, playing three-game sets during the league season means teams are used to it by the time they hit the section semifinals.
'Just like everyone does, we set out goals at the start of the year and our goal was to play as long as we possibly can,' Machado said. 'But just because we want it doesn't mean it's going to happen. It's about how we can stay together as a unit and play our brand of baseball.'
Friday, May 9
Division I
No. 2 Rocklin 4, No. 10 Turlock 2: The upset-minded Bulldogs fell behind 3-0 after three innings, but answered with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Rocklin answered with an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning. Seven Bulldogs recorded a hit each and Jadon Boyer and Cameron Henard drove in Turlock's two runs. The back-to-back CCAL champs, Turlock finishes the season 20-7-1.
Division III
No. 5 Central Catholic 3, No. 13 Fairfield 1: Central Catholic escaped an upset Friday, collecting 10 hits over seven innings at home. Kayden McHenry, Broden Thomas and Jacob Kiesel drove in one run apiece and Thomas, McHenry and Caine Walker finished with two hits apiece. The Raiders scored once in three of the first four innings and the only run they gave up was a third-inning solo home run. Marcus Davenport pitched all seven innings, striking out six batters. For the third year in the row, the Raiders will face Oakmont in the postseason, traveling to the Roseville campus Monday for Game 1 of the best-of-three series.
Thursday, May 8
Division V
No. 2 Hughson 9, No. 7 Venture Academy 0: Hughson pitchers threw their second straight shutout of the postseason in Thursday's quarterfinal. Max Mankins went the full game and allowed just two hits and struck out 10 batters. Offensively, Andrew Fisher hit a home run and had two RBI. Bryce McDaniel went 4-for-4 and Dominic Aguiar drove in two runs. The Huskies host Wheatland on Monday at 4 p.m. in Game 1 of the three-game section semifinal series.
No. 3 Wheatland 6, No. 6 Hilmar 2: Hilmar's season ended on the road Thursday despite outhitting Wheatland 7-2. The big blow came in the bottom of the first inning after two of the first three Wheatland batters reached base via a hit by pitch and a walk. The Pirates hit a three-run home run then scored twice in the fourth inning without recording a hit.
Division VI
No. 3 Colfax 17, No. 6 Ripon Christian 7: Ripon Christian opened up a 5-1 advantage after the top of the third inning, but gave up 12 straight runs in Thursday's run rule loss to the No. 3 Falcons. The Knights got two runs back in the top of the sixth, but Colfax scored four additional insurance runs in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
Division VII
No. 1 Turlock Christian 4, No. 8 Big Valley Christian 3: The Lions and Eagles went into the fifth inning tied at 2-2 but after a scoreless top half for the Lions, Turlock Christian scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Big Valley added a late run in the top of the seventh. Turlock Christian hosts Game 1 of the three-game semifinal series against No. 5 Rio Vista on Monday at 4 p.m.
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