Buhach Colony hits 2 home runs in rout of Vista Del Lago to advance to section semifinals
Another strong pitching performance and two big home runs help lift the No. 6 Buhach Colony baseball team to a 10-1 victory over No. 3 Vista Del Lago in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs on Thursday afternoon in Folsom.
Cooper Lanz pitched six solid innings, giving up just a solo home run in the fourth inning, to pick up the victory. The University of Pacific-bound senior struck out eight and gave up just two hits and four walks.
“He was outstanding,” said Buhach Colony coach Joe Medeiros, whose team improved to 23-7 this season. “In the second half of the season he’s just gotten better and better with each inning and every pitch. He’s been hot down the stretch for us and he was on today.”
Lanz also sparked the offense with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning to give the Thunder a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Erik Munoz helped BC tack on another run in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Logan Baptista to extend the lead to 3-0.
Leading 3-1, Buhach Colony opened up the game with four runs in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh inning.
Landon Laplante highlighted the four-run sixth with a three-run home run.
The Thunder bats collected 10 hits in the game.
Baptista went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. Munoz finished with two hits and three RBIs and Laplante had two hits, including the three-run blast.
“Our approach at the plate was really good today,” Medeiros said. “We were focused on swinging at our pitches. We got the big hits today.”
Spencer Lanz came in and recorded two strikeouts in the seventh to close out the game.
The Buhach Colony pitching staff has surrendered just two runs on three hits in its two playoff wins.
“We played great,” Medeiros said. “Like I said the other day if we can pitch and play defense we’re going to give ourselves a shot to win games. This was a tight game through five innings. Even though it was 3-1, I felt confident the way we were pitching and playing defense.”
Buhach Colony will face No. 2 Del Campo (25-4) in a best-of-three semifinal series next week. Del Campo defeated Ponderosa 7-3 on Thursday.
The semifinal series will begin on Monday at Del Campo. Buhach Colony will host the Cougars for the second game of the series on Wednesday. Game three will be back at Del Campo on Thursday if necessary.
Wednesday
Ben Holt College Prep Academy 7, Hilmar 3 — Christopher Nino pitched into the seventh inning, striking out 12 hitters to pick up the win as the Bobcats upset No. 4 Hilmar on Wednesday.
Fritz Troesch drove in two runs for the Yellowjackets, which finished the season with a 14-10 record.
Argonaut 4, Le Grand 3 — The Mustangs advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI semifinals with a narrow victory over the Bulldogs.
Mariposa 12, Buckingham Charter 2 — The No. 2 seeded Grizzlies jumped on top with three runs in the first inning and five runs in the second inning as they coasted to a win over No. 7 Buckingham Charter.
Mariposa (17-8) will face Argonaut in a best-of-three Division VI semifinal series next week.
