The Gustine Reds’ baseball team swept the Le Grand Bulldogs last week, claiming a 9-3 victory in the away game on April 8 and then followed it with a 9-5 win in front of the home crowd on April 10.
Gustine is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 14 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season.
In the first meeting, Alexander Quezada and Jake Campbell made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Quezada pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Campbell struck out six batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off nine hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At bat, Quezada scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Campbell got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI, one stolen base, and one double.
In other batting news, Lucas Malone and Frank Silveira did most of the damage at the plate: Malone scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Silveira scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those three runs gave Malone a new career-high.
In the second game on April 10, it looked like Le Grand was going to exact some payback by scoring five runs through the first four innings while keeping Gustine’s bats silent.
The Reds’ offense came alive in the bottom of the fifth scoring six runs. They followed it with three more in the sixth inning.
Campbell and Quezada led the offensive effort again, with Campbell going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs and Quezada going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Michael Salsa also went 1-for-3 with one run and two RBIs.
Quezada was on the mound for the Reds again. He struck out seven batters over 6.2 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. Lucas Malone pitched one and kept the Le Grand offense silent.
The Gustine Reds will head out to challenge the Modesto Christian Crusaders at 4 p.m. on April 15. Gustine is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season. Modesto Christian’s last outing resulted in a 11-0 loss to Mariposa County.
