Prep Softball: No. 8 Manteca can't pull off the upset over No. 4 Oakdale
Two of the top high school softball teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section went head to head, not just in a Top 25 matchup, but for the top spot in the Valley Oak League.
No. 8 ranked Manteca hosted No. 4 Oakdale as both held a perfect league record until their paths crossed.
The Buffaloes couldn’t give its home crowd a show as the Mustangs shut them out for a dominating 4-0 victory.
“I mean, there's a reason they've won the league the last couple of years,” said Josh Farris, Manteca softball’s head coach. “Larry [Loger] has a good program over there and we're just trying to get to where he's at. I know we’re a young team with seven underclassmen starting but they get to see what championship-level softball in this league is like.”
Here are the key takeaways from Manteca’s first VOL loss that earned Oakdale the top spot with a perfect 4-0 league record.
Oakdale put the ball in play
By the end of the first inning, the crowd was already calling this game a slow one as both teams were sat down in order. The Mustangs quickly changed their tune as they would bust the game wide open with a RBI triple from junior Madi Bohannon. The shortstop’s triple notched the first run of the game.
Bohannon would go on to lead Oakdale’s offense finishing the game with a team-high two runs, three hits and a stolen base. The Mustangs also had key contributions from senior Morgan Wright and juniors Jaelyn Lee and Jayci Volonte. Wright finished with a double and RBI while Lee added a double and a run.
Volonte led her team in RBIs with two on a big-time double in the sixth inning to push the Mustangs’ lead to four. That hit was a controversial one as the Buffaloes’ defense thought the hit was called a foul.
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“The umpire said it was foul and then he changed his mind to fair,” Farris said. “It doesn't change the fact that the run scored, so I don't want to, like, dwell on it. But I'm proud of how our girls competed, though we played defense pretty well and only made, like, one error.”
Despite Manteca’s valiant defensive efforts, the Mustangs continue to put pressure on senior pitcher Nayellys Torres. They would end the game with a total of nine hits.
Top VOL pitchers duke it out
With their offense struggling, Torres was tasked with saving the day on the mound as she would pitch all seven innings. She faced a familiar foe in Oakdale’s senior pitcher Raegen Everett who is often battling her for the top pitcher in the VOL.
“I've played with Reagan before and I know she's a great pitcher,” Torres said. “In my first at-bat, I didn't really see the ball. I made sure to keep my head in and get inside the ball so I could make adjustments in my next at-bat.”
That second at-bat would go on to earn the Buffaloes their first hit of the game. Torres smacked a deep double in the fifth inning putting her team in scoring position for one of the rare times against Everett. Sophomore Lauren Moncada and Riley Ward were the only other players to land a hit off of her throughout the game.
Everett was like a brick wall for the Mustangs’ defense with a speedy pitch that not too many Buffaloes could keep up with. She started the game sitting Manteca’s lineup down in order and ended the game with 12 strikeouts. Torres kept pace with her not making it easy for the Mustangs offense racking up seven Ks.
This won’t be the last meeting between the two pitchers as they will face off again on May 2 for a rematch.
“I think we’re really good and I think we have a really good shot of winning the league this year,” Torres said. “If we keep our heads up and keep playing like we are, I feel like we're going to do good. I’m looking forward to this rematch next time.”
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Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Prep Softball: Manteca can't pull off the upset over Oakdale
