Raiders bounced from D1 Playoffs by Vacaville

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – The River City High School varsity baseball team lost to Vacaville on Tuesday, May 10, in the 2022 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Baseball Playoffs, subsequently ending the Raiders’ season.

No. 8 seeded River City (21-7, 10-2 Metropolitan Conference) lost to the No. 9 Bulldogs (15-15, 8-7 Monticello Empire League) by a score of 8-2. The game was much closer than the final score entailed. Vacaville led 1-0 after six innings in what seemed to be a pitcher’s duel initially.

However, in the top of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs pretty much ended the Raiders’ hopes for a long postseason run by scoring seven times to take a commanding lead. River City responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but it was not nearly enough as Vacaville won 8-2.

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The Bulldogs were led to the win offensively by junior outfielder Lawrence Westbrook who recorded three hits, one run batted in and one run scored in four at bats. Fellow junior, first baseman Nathan Schnell, was the only other Vacaville player to record multiple hits as he had two. The Bulldogs out-hit the Raiders 11-6 and neither team committed an error.

Vacaville senior pitcher Aidan Russell earned the win by tossing five scoreless innings and allowing four hits and four walks while striking out two batters on 79 pitches. River City senior pitcher Freddy Rodriguez suffered the loss after pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up nine hits, three earned runs, two hit batters, two walks and one stolen base allowed with 10 Ks on 111 pitches.

Junior J.J. Torrente was the only Raider to have multiple hits. The 5-foot-4 outfielder tallied two hits, one RBI, one stolen base, one sacrifice bunt and one walk in four plate appearances.

Vacaville was eliminated from the playoffs two days later in the quarterfinals following a 7-4 loss at No. 1 seed Franklin of Elk Grove.

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One highlight from this season is from March 7 to April 22, the Raiders won 16 out of 18 games, including nine in a row from March 30 to April 22. River City’s two losses came in non-league games against Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park on March 12 and Rio Americano on March 29.

Six of the 17 River City players are seniors. The following players are in the Class of 2022 and will be graduating this month: Pitcher Justin Andreotti, catcher Lucca Talani, right-handed pitchers Rodriguez and Riley Stevens, shortstop Lance Sabatke and outfielder Diego Gonzales.