Pitman High’s baseball team notched a 13-3 victory against Downey Friday afternoon. The Pride were laser focused on the plate and took advantage of nearly every opportunity they had to score.
After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, the Pride were in some early trouble with pitcher Brandon Leon walking the first two batters and loading the bases with one out. He was able to limit the damage and only allowed two runs before getting out of the inning.
“We were able to win a lot of innings and had some big defensive moments,” said head coach Andy Walker. “Brandon competed and battled; he didn’t have his best stuff but was able to work through that.”
Blake Ratajczak runs to third base during Pitman’s league contest against Downey on Friday (CANDY PADILLA/The Journal).
Dominic Damante and Max Martinez found their way on base and Gabe Gutierrez hit them both in with a two RBI single. After giving up one run to the Knights in the top of the third, the Pride really opened things up.
It looked like the Knights were going to cruise to an easy inning after the Pride grounded out in their first two batters. But after two walks and a single, the Pride quickly loaded the bases. Cristian Jacinto knocked one in the open field and cleared the bases with a three RBI double.
The Knights still had fight in them and got their first two batters on base. The Pride were bailed out though, after turning the rare triple play to keep the pressure on and get out of the inning.
After a walk to start off the bottom of the fourth, Mateo Garcia sailed one into right field and it didn’t fall until it got over the fence for a home run. After scoring four more runs in the fifth with RBIs from Drew Walker and Andrew Balentine, the game was called and the Pride celebrated their victory.
“Downey’s a good team, they’re really well coached,” said Walker. “They made it hard for us, but our kids were able to stay focused. We executed quality pitches when we needed to and our defense had some pretty big moments.”
Pitman is in first place in the CCAL with a record of 4-1 and an 11-1-1 record overall. Up next is the final game of the series with the Pride having a home game against Downey Saturday at 11 am
