Kimball (8-4 overall, 4-4 Valley Oak League) opened its home game against Weston Ranch on Friday, April 20, with an eight-run first inning en route to a 17-6 win.

The Cougars (5-10, 2-5) were able to score in the third and fourth innings to make it a 10-6 game in Kimball’s favor going into the bottom of the fourth. But Kimball scored four in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth, including Kris Bartlett’s walk-off double to make it a 17-6 win for the Jaguars.

Nathan Van Katwyk pitched three innings and allowed two runs on three hits for the win. Logan Finley and Zack Johnson pitched in the fourth, and Alec Barba allowed no runs or hits as he struck out three batters in the fifth.

Bartlett had four hits for the day and six RBIs; Barba had two hits and batted in two runs; Zack Perugi doubled and tripled; Blake Cichella had a hit and batted in three; Cody Arledge doubled; and Ricardo Arias, Shane Goulding and Johnson all had hits and RBIs.

Lodi 7, Tracy 1

In spite of outhitting the Flames on Thursday, April 19, in Lodi, the Bulldogs (16-4 overall, 8-1 San Joaquin Athletic Association) took its first loss of the league season, 7-1 to the Flames (9-8, 5-3).

Tracy scored first in the top of the third inning, but Lodi came back with a six-run rally in the bottom of the third and added one more run in the fourth.

Starting pitcher Jonah Wesely got the loss after pitching 2 1/3 innings. He struck out six batters, but the Flames got two walks and three hits off him, including a home run, to score four earned runs. Reilly Oki finished the game for the Bulldogs, striking out four while allowing three hits and two unearned runs.

Tracy had 10 hits, including three for Matt Loscavio, two for John Jaeger and one each for Chase Johnson, Tanner Turner, Cody Daniel, Devon Denholm and Jake Shull.

Sophomores: Lodi 7, Tracy 1

Tracy’s seven-game winning streak ended Thursday, April 19, with a 7-1 loss at Lodi.

The Flames had a 6-0 lead before Tracy scored its only run in the top of the sixth inning.

The Bulldogs put the ball in play, but Lodi’s defense kept Tracy off the bases. Tracy’s four base hits included two for Ryan Vares and one each for Josh Brakkee and Aaron Denholm.

Brakkee pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed six runs, four of them earned and seven hits. He struck out two. Chaz Samaniego struck out two in 2 1/3 innings and allowed two hits and an unearned run.

“While the box score only shows five errors, the Bulldogs had many more mistakes each inning that led to many unfortunate Flame runs,” said coach Ryan Hern. “The good news is that league still isn’t out of reach for us. We face Lincoln next week, and if we can beat them both times, we will be back in the driver’s seat.”