Merced College baseball back over .500 with sweep of Sequoias

It took a little longer than expected, but the Merced College baseball team seems to have figured out its pitching rotation.

The Blue Devils climbed over .500 for the first time since they were 1-0 with a 10-1 victory over College of the Sequoias on Saturday at Blue Devil Field. It completed a three-game sweep of the Giants in which Merced yielded just two runs.

All three Blue Devils starters pitched into at least the seventh inning. Sophomore Ryan Sanchez was the latest to extend the streak in his best outing of the season. He allowed one run, four hits and two walks in seven innings.

Five Merced players had at least two hits, including catcher Coleton Horner. The freshman doubled and drove in a career-high five runs as the Blue Devils improved to 9-8 overall and 7-2 in the Central Valley Conference.

College volleyball

Hope International sweeps UC Merced in Merced – Cole Smith tallied a team-high 20 kills, but the Bobcats (3-14) couldn’t avoid a doubleheader sweep by Hope International at Hostetler Court.

Merced came up short in a comeback bid in the opener, falling 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23 despite Matthew Lostetter’s 16 kills and Matt Pelfini’s 41 assists. The Bobcats were swept in the nightcap 25-15, 25-11, 25-16.

High school track and field

Merced County Championships in Merced – Alexander Salas (100 meters, 4x100 relay), Nick Lemas (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 4x100 relay) and Guillermo Rivas (1,600, 3,200) were multiple event winners as the Golden Valley boys runners had an excellent showing on their home track.

Led by Naomi Peterson (100, long jump) and Kayla Commons (200, 4x400 relay), the Golden Valley girls also had a strong showing. Daisy Perez (1,600, 3,200) and Tina Lao (shot put, discus) captured multiple events for Livingston.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Merced College baseball back over .500 with sweep of Sequoias."