Dominant pitching leads Stallions
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South third baseman Caleb Bertoncini makes the tag to end a rundown during the Stallions’ 8-0 victory over Kingsburg on Thursday.
Behind 10 strikeouts from senior Caleb Bertoncini, the Madera South Stallions baseball team blanked the Kingsburg Vikings, 8-0, in the Fowler Tournament at Eddie Chapa Field.
“We’re just improving every day,” Madera South coach Bo Bertoncini said. “Today, we really swung it well against pretty decent pitching. We just want to get better every day in practice. We have a lot of team speed and if we get some guys on, it’s a lot of fun to watch theses guys running around the bases.”
Bertoncini went six strong innings, allowing four hits and two walks while equaling his day in the batter’s box. Betoncini had a two-run double, along with Peyton Kragie, who also drove in two runs.
Before the game reached the third inning, the Stallions had a five-run lead and continued their hot hitting to the end. Carlos Gonzales, Kragie and Ramon Uribe combined to go 8-for-11, with four runs and four RBIs.
After a 16-run victory last week, the Stallions confidence was sky high.
Thursday’s action was played with a threat of rain, which eventually came in spurts throughout the game. Luckily for the Stallion faithful, the team did its work early.
Four base hits in the first frame for the Stallions set the tone. Jalen Gray, Gonzales and Frank Chavira eached knocked in a run. Their patience at the plate with men in scoring position was just what they did last week.
Madera South looked confident at the plate and the following inning was no different.
Uribe made the most of a middle-of-the-plate fastball and sent it into the outfield for a single. Jeremy Flores came to bat and before he could take a swing, Uribe swiped second base. With a man in scoring position, the Stallions were still thinking aggressively.
Uribe sprinted for third as soon as the pitch left the Vikings’ hand and for a second time in a row, the Stallions had a stolen base.
Kragie followed and knocked in Uribe before Gonzales stepped up and delivered his second RBI single in two innings.
The Stallions tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning after Bertoncini sent an RBI double to the wall, sealing the game in the process.
