Baseball roundup: Rocklin survives scare against Gregori; Del Oro, Whitney move on

Rocklin High School entered the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball playoffs on Wednesday as the No. 2 seed and looked poised to make another run to the championship game. After falling into a 3-0 hole in the first inning, the Thunder found themselves fighting for their lives against an upset-minded Gregori squad from Modesto. Rocklin battled back, shutting out the 15th-seeded Jaguars in the final five innings to survive with a 6-4 victory. Gregori loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh inning, but Rocklin's Merrick Thomas recorded three consecutive outs to close the door and leave the go-ahead run stranded on first base. The Thunder (23-5) took control of the game in the third inning, pushing two runs across to take a 5-4 lead. Rocklin added some insurance in the fourth to push the lead to two, which proved to be enough to move on. Dylan Nusz drove two runs home, while Mason Paranick went 3-for-3 with an RBI. As a team, the Thunder had 12 hits in the afternoon. Troy Ueltzen earned the win, throwing five innings and allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out four. Eric Andrew threw the sixth inning in relief, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Kai Lorenzo and Thomas split the pitching duties in the final inning with Thomas earning the save. Rocklin will face No. 10 Turlock on Friday in the Division I quarterfinals. The Bulldogs upset No. 7 McClatchy 8-6 with a late comeback on Wednesday. Whitney 9, Pitman 0: Brady Estes was dominant on the bump, ringing up 13 strikeouts in six innings as the second-seeded Wildcats dominated No. 15 Pitman to open the Division II Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Estes allowed just two hits and walked one. It took Whitney some time to wake up the offense, as the Wildcats held a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single by Bryce Farris. Whitney added on three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth before a three-run blast from Noah Warner in the bottom of the sixth blew the game wide open. The Wildcats (20-8) are riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the quarterfinals and will host No. 7 Rodriguez on Friday. Del Oro 8, Bella Vista 5: A grand slam by centerfielder and nine-hole hitter Shane Maloney opened the scoring on Wednesday and proved to be the difference as the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles were able to fend off a late comeback attempt by No. 12 Bella Vista in the Division II playoffs. Maloney went on to pick up five RBIs himself and was a catalyst for Del Oro's offense with three hits in five at-bats. Jack Tews and Nico Busalacchi picked up RBIs as well. Kael Lumbert earned the win, surrendering three runs, two earned, in four innings of work. Anthony Clay took over in relief and threw the final three innings, slowing down a surging Bella Vista offense to collect the save and send Del Oro into the quarterfinals. The win is Del Oro's first playoff victory since 2017 when the Golden Eagles fell to Del Campo in the section championship game. Del Oro (11-18) will visit No. 4 Woodcreek (18-9) on Friday in Roseville.