SOLEDAD — With four games left in the regular season the Soledad High Aztec baseball team is taking aim at first place this week with just one game separating them from the first place Pacific Grove Breakers. The Aztecs proved they are ready for a title run after sweeping the Greenfield Bruins in an away and home series last week. The Breakers hosted the Aztecs yesterday afternoon in Pacific Grove.
In the first game with the Bruins at Greenfield the Aztecs led from the start and had three multiple run innings in the 11-3 victory. Winning pitcher Adrian Lopez was on point giving up just three hits and striking out 10 Greenfield batters. Lopez helped his own cause with four hits, including a double.
Chris Villarreal added four hits, with one double and Isaac Lopez had two hits with two runs batted in. Ben Pajas contributed with two hits and two RBI’s. Tony Castro led the Bruins with three basehits and Ubaldo Trujillo added two hits. Greenfield matched Soledad’s single first inning run, and scored one run in the fifth and one run in the seventh. Castro took the pitching loss for the Bruins.
In the junior varsity contest, Greenfield defeated the Aztecs, 19-7. Jaime Soto and Agustin Pantoja had three hits apiece for the Bruins. Soto earned the pitching win with four innings of work.
In Friday’s game between the Aztecs and Bruins in Soledad, the host out hit their guests 16-7 and won the game by a 16-7 score. Chris Villarreal earned the win on the mound for Soledad, giving up two runs and striking out one batter. The teams were tied at 1-1 after one inning and then the Bruins took a 4-1 lead in the top of the second with three runs. Soledad responded with a six-run bottom of the second to take the lead for good at 7-4. The Bruins added a run to cut the lead to 7-5 but were outscored 9-1 the rest of the way.
Isaac Lopez led Soledad with three hits and three RBI’s and Adrian Lopez added three hits of his own and finished with two RBI’s. Robbie Santa Ana had two hits and two RBI’s, and Adrian Gutierrez and Aaron Rodriguez had two hits and two RBI’s apiece.
Ubaldo Trujillo led the Bruins with three hits, including a triple and one RBI, and JJ Rodriguez and Tony Castro hit doubles. Oscar Hernandez pitched three innings and absorbed the loss. Greenfield fell to 1-4 in the Mission Trail Athletic League and dropped to a two-way tie for fourth place tie with the Carmel Padres. Greenfield began an away and home league series with the Marina Mariners yesterday on the Monterey Peninsula and will host the Mariners on Friday.
The Aztecs improved to 12-2 in the MTAL and 19-4 overall. A win or two this week would give Soledad a twenty win season. The Soledad JV team edged the Bruins 2-1 on Friday with four innings of solid pitching from Jonathan Ramirez.
