Arana, Molina spark Falcons’ comeback baseball win over Buhach Colony

A clutch two-run double by Brandon Arana and an overpowering Derek Molina fastball proved to be the difference for the Atwater High School baseball team as the Falcons squeaked out a 4-3 win over Buhach Colony on Tuesday at Firemen’s Memorial Ballpark.

Arana drilled the first pitch he saw from Thunder left-hander Brandon Esau down the third-base line to drive in Omar Sanchez and Tony Romo during a three-run fifth inning.

“I knew I had to get a job done for my team,” Arana said. “Most of the time, I’m looking to swing on the first pitch, but I don’t get something in the area I’m looking at so I don’t get the opportunity.”

Arana gave the Falcons (14-9 overall, 6-5 Central California Conference) the lead, and Molina came in to shut the door.

After Esau singled to set up runners on the corners with no outs in the sixth against Atwater starter Jaime Marquez, coach Jarrod Pimentel called on Molina.

The hard-throwing Molina threw nothing but fastballs, and 18 pitches later, he struck out the next three hitters to preserve the one-run lead.

“I just wanted to come in and throw strikes,” Molina said. “I felt pretty confident. I wasn’t trying to focus on the people on base. I focused on the hitter.”

The win helped Atwater remain tied with Merced (9-14, 6-5) for the third and final playoff spot out of the CCC with four games remaining.

The Falcons have games with Buhach Colony on Thursday and Friday before finishing with two games against Merced next week.

“The kids have to believe they’re good enough, and they have to know we control our own destiny,” Pimentel said. “Buhach is a good team. They’re well-coached, and they do a lot of things the right way. They take advantage of your mistakes.”

The Thunder (11-12, 3-8) did that early against Atwater as Mike Casso reached on an error to lead off the first inning and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch.

Buhach Colony, which has lost 11 of its last 12 games, also scored two runs in the third with the help of another wild pitch and a run-scoring single by Julien Sandoval, who went 3 for 4, to take a 3-1 lead.

After leaving six runners on base through three innings, the Falcons finally got the big hits in the fifth. Sanchez doubled in a run with one out to cut the Thunder lead to 3-2. One out later, Romo walked to set the stage for Arana’s big double, which brought the Falcons’ dugout to life.

“We have guys capable of trading spots with guys when they get doubles; we just haven’t done it a lot,” Pimentel said. “For it to happen today near the bottom end of our order was huge. We had some quality at-bats today from that part of the order.”

Molina was able to pitch around two baserunners in the seventh with the help of a diving play at third base by Wyatt Pimentel.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Arana, Molina spark Falcons’ comeback baseball win over Buhach Colony."