MAXWELL, CA (MPG) – Sporting their traditional postseason bleached blonde look for last Friday’s game, the No. 1 seeded Panthers recorded a 7-0 win over No. 6 Portola in the first round of the Northern Section CIF Division VI playoffs.
Panthers NSCIF D6 playoff win over Portola on May 16.
Taking advantage of two errors with some timely hitting in the first inning, Maxwell put five runs on the board and never looked back as it cruised to an easy win over the visiting Tigers.
At the plate, the Panthers pounded out 10 hits led by Massey Baker, who finished 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI along with Eddie Izquierdo, who went 2 for 3 with two runs scored.
Luke Pearson had an RBI double while Vincent Orozco, Wyatt Roach, Lucas Bowen, Yahir Alcaraz and Brody Jones each had one hit apiece.
It was an approach that Coach Tyler Wells said his team has been focusing on all season long.
“Our whole mindset has been about competitive at bats and forcing the defense to make plays,” said Wells. “We only struck out twice and that’s a good sign our guys are shortening up and making adjustments.”
Also key to the victory was a commendable effort on the mound from a trio of pitchers including Baker, Orozco and Roach.
Baker got the start, going two and a third innings in which he fanned six and yielded a single hit before giving way to Orozco, who over the next three and two-thirds struck out five and gave up just two hits.
Roach closed out the final frame, striking out two.
May 16.
Additionally, although it may go unnoticed in the stats, the Panthers got a noteworthy effort from catcher Colt Montgomery behind the plate, something that Wells sees as an important part of his team’s success.
“Colty is a workhorse,” Wells said. “He does things the right way and doesn’t take a pitch off. He has been solid all year for us.”
With the win, Maxwell traveled to Biggs on May 20 to take on the No. 2 seeded Wolverines, a team it has beaten three times this season.
Still, Wells said he was looking forward to the matchup, as he explained, “It’s hard to beat a team four times, especially one of Biggs’ caliber. We know they have guys that will compete on the mound, so we have to go there with the same mindset we just had against Portola. It’s going to be an electric atmosphere so I am excited to see how our kids react to the big moments.”
Results from the semifinal round were not available by the Pioneer Review print deadline, however the winner will punch its ticket to the championship game to be held at either Butte or Shasta College on May 24 at a time yet to be determined.