DURHAM, CA (MPG) – Following a narrow 2-3 defeat in Sutter on Apr. 22, the Maxwell baseball team powered past the competition at the Durham Tournament which was held Apr. 25 and 26.
On the road against the Huskies to start last week, the Panthers went toe-to-toe with the Sac-Joaquin Section perennial power, but ultimately saw Sutter walk it off in the home half of the seventh.
Yahir Alcaraz finished 2 for 3 with a run scored, Massey Baker had an RBI single and Landon Barrett also knocked in a run.
In an admirable effort on the mound, Alcaraz, Vincent Orozco and Baker limited the Huskies to just three hits, but four errors behind them resulted in two unearned runs.
Undeterred, Maxwell marched into Durham and took care of business in its first game against Los Molinos, emerging with a 4-2 victory, where despite registering just three hits, the Panthers made them count, taking advantage of five free passes.
Baker and Colt Montgomery both had RBI singles, while Orozco had the only other knock in the game.
Getting the nod on the hill Baker went six strong, scattering three hits and striking out nine without yielding a run before giving way to Orozco who closed out the final frame to earn the save.
Following up on Friday with a 12-1 laugher over Biggs in their second game of the afternoon, Maxwell put crooked numbers on the board in the second, fourth and sixth innings as they capitalized on five Wolverine errors.
Alcaraz stayed hot garnering two hits and driving in three while Brody Jones had a pair of hits and an RBI.
Orozco, Baker and Barrett knocked in two runs apiece with Montgomery doubling to drive in a run.
Combining on the bump, Orozco and Wyatt Roach yielded four hits and fanned eight batters.
In Saturday’s tournament finale, the Panthers held off a four-run rally in the seventh by the host Trojans to emerge with the 11-8 win.
Seeing the ball well at the plate, Orozco completed a successful three-game performance by finishing 3 for 4, Baker was 2 for 2 with a double and four RBI, while Alcaraz, who is the team leader in batting average at .490, had two more hits including a double.
Although Maxwell as a team pounded out 11 hits, it was also the beneficiary of 10 walks.
Alcaraz, Roach and Levi Velazquez shouldered the load on the mound.
Coming off their strong performance in Durham, the Panthers (16-3, 6-0) have a doubleheader in Quincy today ahead of next week’s showdown with Hamilton City (16-6, 6-0), which should settle the Mid-Valley League championship.