Atwater defeats Mountain House to clinch spot in Easter Baseball Tournament championship
The Atwater High baseball team erupted for 12 hits and eight runs as the Falcons hung on for an 8-6 win over Mountain House on Tuesday night at Memorial Ballpark.
The win improved the Falcons record to 2-0 in the 61st annual Fran Oneto/Atwater-Winton Lions Easter Baseball Tournament and clinched a spot in Thursday’s championship game.
Atwater used a small-ball approach effectively against the Mustangs, beating out bunts for base hits to set up rallies, move runners over and turn the lineup over.
“Small ball has been preached to us since day one,” said senior Cole Hazel, who collected three hits and walk. “Small ball wins games. It’s been an emphasis for us in practice and I’m excited to see it translate into the game tonight.”
The Falcons (16-4) rallied for four runs in the third inning to take a 5-2 lead against Mountain House (15-7).
Atwater’s Xavier Cardnesa, Hazel and Bo Valladao connected on three consecutive singles during the inning to push across the first run in the third.
Brandon Campbell then dropped a bunt down the third base line on a safety squeeze that plated Hazel. Valladao also came around to score on an errant throw to first base to give the Falcons a 4-2 lead.
“We’re continually trying to get better and it’s a lot of fun when kids buy into the small ball part of the game,” said Atwater coach Jarrod Pimentel. “Good things happen when we do that and it opens the door for bigger things.”
The Mustangs answered with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Atwater lead to 5-4.
However, Atwater tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Valladao, who went 2-for4 at the plate one night after picking up the win on the mound in a 4-2 win over Gregori on Monday night.
Henry Warden and Garrett Sanchez both had two hits for the Falcons with Sanchez driving in a pair of runs.
Senior right-hander Damien Romo pitched five innings to pick up the win.
Sanchez came in with two runners on in the seventh inning and retired the final three batters to save the game.
“I thought Damian pitched extremely well tonight,” Pimentel said. “I thought we did a good job of laying down some really good bunts and executing our small ball. Sanchez came into a sticky situation there in the last inning and closed the door against a very good baseball team.”
The Falcons clinched a spot in the championship game on Thursday as the only 2-0 team in their pool with one game left against Ripon. Even with a loss to Ripon, Atwater would have the head-to-head tie-breaker over Gregori or Mountain House.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a two-year hiatus for the tournament, this is the first Easter tournament for all the Atwater players.
The tournament is an annual highlight for Atwater players because it’s an opportunity to play four games under the lights in front of big crowds.
“I’ve been talking about this all week,” Hazel said. “It’s my first one. It’s a funny feeling. I’m regretful that I missed out on so much, but I’m so grateful that I’m able to play in the tournament because some of seniors the last couple years didn’t get that chance.
The championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Hazel said. “I’m so excited. There are times when baseball can be a grind, but the last couple weeks have been a lot of fun and I’m enjoying the ride.”
