Baseball title on line for Buhach Colony, Turlock

Logan Coe was a freshman the last time the Buhach Colony High School baseball team played at Pacific’s Klein Family Field in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Coe was called up to the varsity and spent time in the dugout and bullpen.

“I was there. It was awesome,” Coe said. “I expected to make it there more than one year. We got a chance this year to get there again, and I want to make the most of it.”

The Thunder (13-11, 10-2 Central California Conference) can earn a return trip to Pacific as it opens a three-game series with Turlock (14-10, 10-2) to close the regular season. The series begins Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Buhach Colony.

The teams enter the series tied atop the CCC. The winner of this series clinches not only a league championship but a first-round bye in the section Division I South playoffs, meaning an opener at Pacific.

The second- and third-place teams in the CCC need first-round wins to advance to Pacific.

“Every team’s goal is to win league, and us and Buhach Colony are in position to do that,” Turlock coach Mark de la Motte said. “Both teams have worked hard to get in this position.”

It’s a special position for the Thunder seniors. Many were called up during their sophomore year, when Buhach Colony finished 3-12 in the CCC. Last year wasn’t much better at 4-11.

So one can understand why they are excited for the opportunity to play for a title.

“Definitely happy for those guys,” Thunder coach Greg Wakefield said.

Senior Kory Woods is a three-sport athlete but didn’t win a title in football or basketball. He did play in a basketball playoff game this season.

Woods wants to conclude his prep career with at least one championship. The right-hander will start Tuesday.

“It should be fun,” Woods said. “Hopefully, we can make a decent run in the playoffs.”

The Thunder seems to be peaking at the right time, winning seven of its last eight games. Buhach Colony has outscored its opponents 62-19 in that stretch. The Thunder has done it by jumping on its opponents early, scoring 30 runs in the first inning in the last seven games.

“We’ve just had really tough at-bats,” Wakefield said. “We know that’s been the key. We know if we can battle up there and have tough at-bats, we can give ourselves a chance for a big inning.”

The Thunder faces a Turlock team that has scored 94 runs in 12 league games. After starting 9-0, the Bulldogs lost two of three to Pitman last week.

“I think if you look at our schedule, we played some really good teams early in the season,” de la Motte said. “Then, we had a stretch where we played well and our opponents didn’t. Then, last week, we had two games where we couldn’t hit for two games.”

The Bulldogs are led by Jon Temple, who is batting .414 with a team-high five home runs and 31 RBIs. Tate Soderstrom is hitting a team-leading .438 with 18 RBIs, and Brandon Booz is hitting .358 with 21 runs.

Wakefield feels pitching and defense will be the keys against the Bulldogs.

“We’re going to have to execute our pitches,” he said. “We’re going to have to mix it up and prevent the big innings. We have to make plays and get outs. We can’t give them second opportunities. I know our big innings start with something the other team gives us.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Baseball title on line for Buhach Colony, Turlock."