Whitney's offense steps up in game three to defeat St Mary's and advance to the Division I Championship

After scoring just three total runs in a two-game split with St. Mary's, the Whitney High baseball team scored nine runs last Thursday in Rocklin to defeat the Rams 9-5 in game three of the California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Playoffs. The pitching duels that took place in their first two contests came down to depth in the bullpen and power at the plate in game three. Both clubs came out swinging hard but the Wildcats swung harder. "The first two days, we both had our aces going," said Whitney High head coach Jackson Watt. "So, for this game we both knew we were really going to be in our bullpens for both teams." The Rams sent four different pitchers to the mound and Wildcats three over six and a half innings. But by the top of the fifth, the tide had turned in Whitney's favor. Leading 4-3 going into the bottom of the fourth frame, Whitney High drove in three runs to seal the Rams' fate. Jace Gillmore led off the fourth for the 'Cats with a single. Gavin McLendon followed with a base hit, forcing St. Mary's to replace starting pitcher Nico Bavaro with reliever Carson Morelli. Shane Saunders then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Moreilli had trouble finding the plate and allowed Gillmore to score on a passed ball and Saunders to do the same for the winning run. Adam Van Der Kamp closed out the scoring in that stanza on Jax Gimenez's sacrifice fly and an overthrow at third base. After the Rams picked up their fourth run in inning five, Watt sent reliever Corden Pettey to the hill with the bases loaded and no outs. The sophomore promptly struck out the next three St. Mary's batters. Pettey did surrender a run in the sixth inning but his defense ended any further threats. In the top of the seventh, the right-hander retired the Rams on a strikeout and two fly balls. "Every single guy on our team definitely contributes, our lineup and a lot of pitchers getting in and throwing strikes," Watt said. "Our dugout does a lot of different jobs with our charts and all those things, and everybody staying up and staying together." Scoring runs for Whitney were Gimenez, Nathan Erickson, Luke Oyler, Gilmore (2), McLendon (2), Van Der Kamp (2); RBIs were turned in by Gimenez (2), Gillmore (2) and Vavak. Gimenez and Van Der Kamp had doubles and Gillmore a 2-run home run. Tanner Dykstra started on the mound for the Wildcats and was relieved by Brady Estes in the fourth inning. Pettey closed out the game and recorded four strikeouts. Second-seeded Whiney now moves into the D1 Championship Game against No. 1 Franklin, 6 p.m. Friday at Sacramento City College. From there, they will enter the Northern California Regional Playoffs.