Merced Union High School District

Zach Hunter pitched into the seventh inning and teammates Travis Pavey and Noah Ruiz drove in key runs late as the El Capitan High baseball team defeated No. 2 Vista del Lago 4-2 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III baseball playoffs on Friday afternoon. The win vaults the No. 7 Gauchos into the semifinals for the first time since 2016.

 

The win avenged a first-round loss to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs last year. Hunter was the starting pitcher in that loss so he had a bit of extra motivation in the rematch. “Last year we had a great team and a great run and our year was cut short here,” Hunter said. “As a team, we said this is a shot at redemption. We came out with fire, we came out with energy and we got the job done.”

 

Hunter gritted his way through six innings and eventually hit the pitch limit after retiring the first batter in the seventh inning and had to be lifted. The 6-foot-5, right-hander struck out eight and pitched around four walks and three hits. The senior improved to 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA this season.

 

“Zach put his heart on his sleeve out there,” said El Capitan coach Aaron Ruiz, whose team improved to 23-7 on the season. “He had a chip on his shoulder coming in from last year. He started here and they beat him so he had something to prove and he did a good job proving it.”

Vista del Lago had its own 6-5, senior right-hander on the mound in Jack Ellis and he matched Hunter with zeroes on the scoreboard through the first three innings. The Gauchos broke through with a two-out rally in the fourth inning. 

 

Noah Ruiz and Brennan Casey singled to give El Capitan runners on first and third. Casey then attempted to get in a run down with an early steal, but Ellis let Casey cruise into second base without attempting a throw. Pavey then capitalized on the scoring opportunity with a single to right field to plate both runners and give the Gauchos a 2-0 lead.

 

“I just told myself to stay calm,” Pavey said. “That was something else. I was so happy.” The lead didn’t last long as Vista del Lago pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fourth with the help of a walk and two defensive miscues by the Gauchos. 

 

“Knowing that we just pulled ahead 2-0, I knew we could do it again,” Hunter said. “I’ve got a great group of guys behind my back, great coaches, great guys everywhere and I knew we were there to battle.”

El Capitan struck again in the fifth inning as Angel Rivera led off with a single and Matt McQuillen followed with a double to left to set the stage with two runners in scoring position. With one out, Noah Ruiz, who went 3-for-3 at the plate, hit a pop up that landed behind the drawn-in infield to score Rivera to give El Capitan a 3-2 lead. Pavey then followed with a fly ball to right field and McQuillen was able to tag and beat the throw on a close play at the plate to extend the lead to 4-2.

 

The Gauchos pitching staff and defense did the rest as Hunter gave up just one hit batter as he retired six of the next seven batters until departing in the seventh. Casey then finished off the victory, recording the final two outs to set off a Gauchos’ celebration. “I’ve never got to experience this, this is the farthest I’ve gotten in the playoffs, it’s just crazy,” said Pavey, who drove in three of the four runs. 

 

El Capitan will now face No. 3 Manteca in a best-of-three semifinals starting on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Manteca. The Gauchos will host game two on Thursday at 4 p.m. with a game three scheduled for Friday at Manteca, if necessary. Manteca defeated Ponderosa 6-2 on Friday to improve to 22-8 this season.

 

For the Gauchos, it’s an opportunity to play two more games together. “It’s a blessing,” Hunter said. “I love it. I love being able to play baseball. We get to continue this and this is the most fun I’ve had in baseball in a long time. We all get along really well and it’s just great being around these guys.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.