Buhach Colony batters Merced with 13 hits in 13-1 rout

The Buhach Colony High baseball team came out swinging against Merced. The first good pitch the Thunder hitters saw from Bears starter Tanner Pellissier, they were letting it rip.

By the end of the night, Buhach Colony had pounded out 13 hits and pushed across 13 runs in a 13-1 win at Merced High on Wednesday night to earn a split of the opening Central California Conference two-game series with Merced this week.

The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run, mercy rule.

“From the beginning of the game our mind-set was we were going to try to 10-run rule them,” said Buhach Colony senior Christian Witt, who delivered the big blow in a five-run first inning with a three-run double. “We came out aggressive, swinging at the first pitch often.”

The Thunder (5-3-1 overall, 1-1 CCC) made solid contact against three Bears pitchers all night and managed to hit the ball in the right places.

The first three batters reached base to set the table for Witt in the top of the first inning. Witt has spent his last three summers playing American Legion ball with Pellissier. However, he hasn’t spent much time in the batters box against the Merced senior.

“I watched the first two at-bats of the game and he started them each with a fastball and then his second pitch was a curveball,” Witt said. “So I went up looking fastball and I got it on the first pitch. I got a good swing on it.”

Witt cleared the bases with a double, but Buhach Colony senior Michael Casso was injured on a play at the plate. Casso scored, but when he slid his shoulder hit the ground hard.

“It looks like he’s going to be out two to three weeks,” said Buhach Colony coach Greg Wakefield. “We scored five runs, but it was still a tough first inning.”

Pellissier regrouped to retire BC in order in the second inning, but Thunder cranked out four hits and three runs in the third inning. Dhelahn Tilghman drove in two runs with a double during the rally.

The Thunder tacked on three more runs in the fourth to open up an 11-0 lead.

“We’re an aggressive team and we’re going to swing it,” Wakefield said. “It’s what we do. We’re not going to sit. Tonight we swung it well, we hit and ran, we did a lot of good things on offense.”

Left-hander Sergio Renteria pitched four innings to pick up the win for the Thunder.

The Bears lone run came in the fourth inning as Clayton Hall led off the frame with a double to left-center field. Hall eventually came around to score on a wild pitch that cut the lead to 11-1.

Roman Gurr went 3-for-3 to help ignite the Thunder offense. Tilghman went 2-for-2 with a run and the two RBIs.

Both teams are back in action on Friday with Merced (4-4, 1-1) traveling to Turlock at 4 p.m. Buhach Colony will host El Capitan.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Buhach Colony batters Merced with 13 hits in 13-1 rout."