Prep Baseball: Sanchez strikes out 9 to lead Oak Hills past Hesperia in Mojave River League opener
Sebastian Sanchez toed the rubber and stared down the plate against his former team Friday afternoon looking to send a message.
The senior right-hander did just that, as he threw six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to lead the Oak Hills baseball team to an 8-0 victory over Hesperia.
Having played for the Scorpions last year, Sanchez wanted to make a statement in the first Mojave River League game of the season.
“I came here last year and wanted my revenge,” Sanchez said. “I just tried to soak it all in.”
Sanchez cited his inside fastball as the source of success against his former team and called on it often to get batters out. After his first strikeout, Sanchez felt like he was in a rhythm with that fastball and his offspeed offering.
“I got that first K and got my confidence back up. I just felt good out there,” Sanchez said.
That confidence was there all game for Sanchez considering he struck out the first batter of the game.
Despite being at only 71 pitches after the sixth inning, Oak Hills head coach Sean Sers wanted to protect Sanchez with a big lead and removed prior to the seventh. While Sanchez didn’t get the complete game that he thought he could, he did prove where he stands in the Bulldogs’ rotation with the gritty performance.
“Gosh, you know what, with this performance, he kind of cemented being it (the ace of the rotation),” Sers said.
After a 1-2-3 first inning at the plate, the Bulldogs went quick to work in the top of the second. Juan Martinez led off the inning with a single followed by a stolen base, setting up Alex Mendoza to drive him in on a double to left field. Mendoza quickly scored after Hesperia committed an error on a bunt the very next pitch.
Oak Hills did not score again in the second inning but the offense was able to turn the lineup back over for the start of the third. With two outs and a runner on second, Martinez ripped a single into left field to make it a 3-0 game. Just two pitches later, Mendoza cashed in with his second RBI double, this time one-hopping the outfield wall.
Mendoza came around to score before the inning was over to make it 5-0. The duo of Martinez and Mendoza drove in or scored six of the Bulldogs’ eight runs.
Seeing the middle of the order thrive was a welcome sight for Sers with how the offense has struggled in the preseason.
“They’ve been working hard all week in practice, trying to see the ball longer and making good contact, putting the ball in play, and scoring some runs” Sers said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit and to come out today and do the things that we’ve been working on, I commend our kids because it’s about them.”
One big aspect that the Bulldogs have been working on is their bunt packages, Sers said. The team recorded two sacrifices, two bunts for a base hit and one that resulted in an error and led to the second run being scored.
Sers was not afraid to put the bunt sign on at any point, even calling a bunt with runners on first and third and two outs that resulted in an RBI single.
“We’re going to take what the defense gives us and put pressure on the defense. We just had to take advantage of that,” Sers said.
Oak Hills continues league play Wednesday at home against Apple Valley, while Hesperia heads to Serrano.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Baseball: Sanchez strikes out 9 to lead Oak Hills past Hesperia
