Gustine hadn't done well against Mariposa County recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Gustine narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Mariposa County 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Reds have posted since April 19, 2024.
Gustine saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mike Saaranzin, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Junior Daniel Navarro also went 1-for-3 with one run scored. Sophomore Frank Silveira went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Jake Campbell and Avery Etheridge each scored a run.
Etheridge and Navarro each tallied a stolen base during the game.
Alexander Quezada pitched six innings, striking out nine, walking four and giving up two runs. Lucas Malone closed out the game by pitching the final inning, giving up two runs.
Gustine is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups and the victory was their sixth straight on the road. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. The pitchers have only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games.
Gustine has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game.
With the defeat, Mariposa County broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-8.
The two teams also played each other on Tuesday and on that occasion it was Mariposa County that took the win, 3-2.
Campbell and Saarenzin were responsible for bringing in Gustine’s two runs. Campbell also pitched all seven innings, striking out six.
Gustine will challenge rival Denair at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Gustine 3.8, Denair 4) so any runs scored will be well earned. Denair has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging four runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Thursday. They came up short against Le Grand, falling 11-1.
