For the third time in the last four years, the Pioneer High School varsity baseball team has clinched at least a share of the Golden Empire League championship.
Before departing the GEL for the Monticello Empire League in the fall, the Patriots (19-5, 16-1 GEL) have an opportunity to clinch a third outright GEL title on Friday at Rotary Field versus Rio Linda (13-10, 9-5).
“Our number one goal was to win league, so to have a share, we want to come out and be sole owners of that,” said coach Craig Marquez. “It’s a compliment to the kids and the hard work in the program that has been established from when you’re a freshman to a senior. We have a winning tradition at Pioneer. It’s fun to see these guys grow, get after it and reap the benefits of their hard work. It’s pleasing for me.”
Pioneer pulverized the Knights 16-0 on Tuesday at home. Thursday’s game at Bee McGill Park in Sacramento County was a pitcher’s duel between junior right-hander Drew Van Court and Rio Linda sophomore RHP Mathias Culp.
“It was definitely a battle. Obviously Tuesday, we came out and won 16-0. They came out today with a chip on their shoulders. In the early innings, they put a lot of barrels on the ball but we made some plays. I was able to settle in four, five, six and started missing more bats,” Van Court recalled. “It was great, that’s probably the best feeling in baseball. You’ve got a one-run game out there in the seventh, their tying runner is on second, there’s nothing better than that!”
The Patriots scored 1 run in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. The Knights cut their deficit in half with an RBI double by senior catcher Xander Geer in the bottom of the sixth. However, Pioneer prevailed in a 2-1 thriller under the lights in Rio Linda to clinch another league championship.
“It was a pretty solid game, they really did comeback and put up a fight. We battled too and barreled a lot of baseballs but the wind caught them,” said junior C Jack Selfridge. “It was nice to have a close game and was fun. Playing underneath the lights, you don’t really get to do that a lot in high school.
“I felt I did pretty good this game. I got out of a slump and hadn’t been hitting too good. I changed up my stance a little bit, went back to what I use to do and it helped a lot.”
Junior first baseman Luke Ferreira drove in the Patriots’ first run in the top of the fourth. After junior shortstop Jack Cullison drew a walk and stole second base, Ferreira hit an RBI single down the right field line to score Cullison. Van Court recorded a shutdown frame in the bottom half, stranding a runner on third base.
Selfridge led off the fifth inning with a single to left. Senior second baseman Damian Renteria then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Selfridge into scoring position. Junior outfielder Landon Dahler proceeded to single to center and score Selfridge, which was ultimately a valuable insurance run for DVC.
“Drew came out, was on top of his game and went right after them. We were fortunate enough to get a couple big hits with some outs to score a couple runs and held on, so it was a good win,” Marquez explained. “Every game it doesn’t matter, you need to start over. Even in that first game on Tuesday, we had 11 in the first inning, so if you take that away, it’s a 5-0 game.
“They’re competitive, scrappy and will play all 21 outs. We need to come out and match that. Defense was a little shaky throwing the ball around today but playing on turf, we haven’t done that in a while, so it’s a little different.”
Pioneer was led to the victory offensively by Selfridge and Dahler, who each had multiple hits. Selfridge was 2-for-3 with 1 triple. Dahler went 2-for-4 with 1 double. Cullison was 1-for-1 with 2 walks and a swiped bag.
“(Selfridge) was super clutch. We need him to hit like that if we’re going to go far in the playoffs. He was really impressive today,” Van Court recalled. “Landon had two hits, drove in a run and is probably the team leader.”
Van Court (3-2) pitched a complete game to earn the win. The TCU commit allowed 4 hits, 1 run and 1 walk with 8 strikeouts.
“Drew pounded the zone left and right. That last inning he was on adrenaline and just throwing fastballs by guys so that was fun,” Marquez said. “Jack did an excellent job behind the dish controlling the running game. They like to run a lot, but with his arm, it helped out. Dahler had great at-bats and an RBI, Luke did the same thing. Hats off to everybody, I thought we had good at-bats.”
The most emphatic K of the night ended the game as DVC got senior OF Kaleb Deary swinging with the tying run in scoring position.
“I just wanted to blow it by him. I was throwing hard in the last few innings, the velocity picked up and I guess my adrenaline got going. I just attacked hitters today,” Van Court recalled. “At the plate, I was horrible and chased ball four. We could’ve had a bigger lead. On the mound, I was able to just shake it and compete.”
With a win Friday in Woodland, the Patriots would clinch a third outright GEL title under Marquez, who has been at the helm since 2010.
“Every team is different. When you have four to six quality arms and kids that know how to play fundamental baseball, if you can pitch and play defense, you’re going to be in every game,” Marquez said. “This team is special just like all the other ones. We’ve got eight seniors and having them leave with a league title is really important.”
Pioneer concludes the regular season next week versus two future MEL rivals. The Patriots host Wood (6-17) of Vacaville on Wednesday and travel to Fairfield on Thursday to play Vanden (10-10). Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
