The battle for first place in Valley Oak League baseball seemed like anything but on Monday with eight combined errors, but Manteca relief pitcher Jimmy Burns pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out the side in order to preserve the Buffaloes’ lead in their 9-7 win over visiting Central Catholic.
“It was a battle today,” Buffaloes coach Mark Ruiz said. “We kind of put ourselves in some bad positions, obviously with the defense, but I just like the way our pitchers responded. They didn’t shut down or anything and kept throwing strikes, and of course Jimmy (Burns) coming out in that last inning throwing really well took a lot of pressure off the defense.”
The Raiders (8-4 VOL, 12-6 overall) took advantage of three errors by Manteca (10-3, 17-4) in the sixth inning, scoring three runs to narrow the gap to 9-7. Burns toed the rubber in the seventh with those three strikeouts in a row being swinging.
“I had adrenaline going,” Burns said. “I was ready the whole game in case I came into pitch.
“Getting this win takes us one step closer to winning league.”
Nate Slikker started on the mound for the Buffaloes and went six innings and sprinkled six hits over the first four innings with two strikeouts and a walk before inducing three infield groundouts in the fifth. He added one more strikeout in the three-error, three-run Central Catholic third.
“This was a big game, and we were pretty much playing for first place in league,” Slikker said. “And my mind set for today was that we had to win it, and this sets the tone for the week. I trusted my guys to make plays. I didn’t have the greatest stuff today, but it worked out. It was a great team win.
“We hit the ball, getting barrel on ball all the way. We put up nine runs, and it’s hard to lose a ball game when you do that.”
Slikker went 2 for 3 with an RBI, a run and a leadoff triple in the sixth.
“On that triple, I was thinking I had to run,” Slikker said. “It was a good way to start the inning, and it felt pretty good off the bat.”
Slikker did not have the only Manteca triple on the day. Devon Richardson came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the fifth and launched an 0-1 offering to deep right field just past the diving Raiders fielder, plating Eddie Anthony and Nick Garcia for what proved to be margin of victory.
“Every time I get in, I try to take advantage of what I have in front of me,” Richardson said. “I let one go by me, and I told myself if I saw it again, I was going to do something with it.
“The next pitch was the same pitch; I got my hands inside and let it get to my back hip, and I drove it the other way for the two-RBI triple.”
Anthony (2 for 4, RBI, double, two runs) tallied three putouts at second and was part of a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play in the third with a runner on third base.
“I try to stay inside the ball,” Anthony said. “I have been in a slump, so I just wanted to come out here and get out of my slump.
“When I was on the bases I tried to get into the pitcher’s head.”
The Buffaloes posted their first five runs behind four Central Catholic errors total in the second and third innings.
“We didn’t play a clean ball game defensively,” Raiders coach Danny Ayala said. “Offensively, we faced one of the best pitchers in the league and scored seven runs, and there was a lot to be proud of there.
“Wednesday will be a playoff-feel game. That’s a playoff team right there. We knew what we were coming in here to fight for, we knew they were going to be ready, and they got the better of us today.”
Central Catholic hosts the second of three games on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before the two teams wrap up the season series back in Manteca at 4 Friday afternoon.
