With his pitch count nearing the century mark heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, Manteca pitcher Nate Slikker intended to finish what he started Wednesday at Sierra.

A throwing error extended his outing, and it could have gone on longer if not for a heads-up play by the defense.

Right fielder Nick Garcia tried in vain to rob Ricardo Anaya of a base hit with a diving grab, but he was able to throw out lead runner John Thomson to end the game. Garcia zipped it to shortstop Noah Navarro, who applied the tag as Thomson slid headfirst back to the bag after rounding second.

It wasn’t the way Slikker envisioned his team locking down the 3-0 series-opening win, but he was satisfied with the Buffaloes (3-1 Valley Oak League, 10-2 overall) getting the job done. The offense did enough, scoring all three runs in the sixth inning with two-out, RBI singles from Eddie Anthony and pinch-hitter Jace Quitasol.

“I wanted it,” Slikker said. “When I have the ball, I don’t want it taken away. Big game, big series and close game. I wanted the ball in my hand no matter how many pitches it took — I could have thrown 2,000 pitches. I have trust in my team; they made plays, especially on that last play. It was a great way to end the game.”

The sophomore gutted out the three-hit shutout, overcoming four errors and three walk errors while totaling 111 pitches. Slikker came through with big strikeouts in the process, finishing with nine. Sierra (1-2, 3-5 left eight runners on base, five of them in scoring position.

“Nate grinded all day,” Manteca coach Mark Ruiz said. “He’s the ultimately competitor, for sure, and kept us in the game. He doesn’t shy away from people being on base. When somebody makes an error, he’s ready to pick them back up. He’s a great teammate.”

Sierra southpaw Collins Schluer also pitched well but got himself into a jam with two hit batters in the sixth inning. Manteca took advantage of the opportunity, as Anthony jumped on a 1-0 offering for the base hit up the middle that plated Chris Chavez. That was the third hit of the day for Anthony.

Cam Jimenez doubled the lead when he scored on a passed ball, and Quitasol drove in Anthony with his single to right.

“I know it was a big moment with two outs,” Anthony said. “(The score) was 0-0 up until that moment. I’ve been in a slump, too so I had to come out there with the right mindset and swing the bat.

“Their pitcher was working a lot of good off-speed against us. We had to get used to it, and in the three-run inning, that’s when we started getting into it.”

Schluer (five strikeouts, walk, five hits) was replaced by Koa Rodrigues with two outs in the sixth.

“It’s hard when you don’t score runs,” Sierra coach Travis Thomson said. “You have to be perfect on the mound, and you can’t expect pitchers to never walk a guy or hit a batter. It came down to them getting the ball in play with the runners in scoring position, and we didn’t. Baseball is not a complicated game. You have got to put the ball in play, and when you do that with runners at second and third, you have a pretty good chance of scoring.”

Three of Sierra’s four hits did not leave the infield. Ricardo Anaya went 2 for 2 with a sacrifice bunt and a walk. Riley Kane reached three times, twice on errors and once on a walk.

“With Slikker on the mound, he’s not going to give you anything for free,” Thomson said. “Of all the pitchers we have faced the last couple of years, I would bet that he’s going to throw every 3-2 pitch for a strike. Every big pitch, he’s going to make. He’s a competitor. Hats off to Slikker, he pitched another big game. I think we just have to compete more at the plate if we want to beat pitchers like that.”

The series will end Friday with a doubleheader at Manteca. The twinbill is scheduled to start at 1:30.