The Panthers Win the Pennant! The Panthers Win the Pennant!

The Panther baseball team took the Sac-Joaquin Division III title on Memorial Day, its first division title in six years, beating the Rodriguez High School Mustangs 8-5 on a mostly overcast day at Sacramento City College.

The game started well for the Panthers with on the hill and Rodriguez going down in order to start the game. The bottom of the first inning saw lead-off hitter get hit by a pitch, steal second then score on a RBI single by third baseman . In all the Panthers sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs in the first frame while knocking out the starting pitcher, Jake Caballero.

Fairfield's Rodriguez High showed why it was in the championship game in the second inning when with two out, it managed to score five runs on four hits and an error.  The last hit, a double by Myles Carelock with the bases loaded, cleared the bases, but Carelock was thrown out when he tried to stretch the hit into a triple.

Benicia's senior ace, , who started the game in center field, moved to the mound in the third inning and allowed no hits in the last five innings. When asked about the no hit performance, Reyes said he wasn't aware he had shut down Rodriguez.

Coach Jim Bowles wasn't surprised. "That's how good pitchers are," he said. "They get in a groove and start collecting outs."

While it seemed Jenest had been knocked out of the game, it was actually the plan all the along to have Jenest, who has suffered some arm soreness lately, to pitch the first two innings then have Reyes finish out the game. Andrew Myers replaced Reyes in center field.

Reyes credited senior catcher for much of his success. "Hayden was setting up inside," said Reyes. "He did a really good job." 

Reyes, who  struck out four in his five innings of  play, was hitting the inside corners while Mauch framed the pitches for the umpires.

Mauch did a good job all day at the plate.  He was three for three hitting with four RBIs, two in the first when he hit a bases loaded double and two in the third when he hit the game's only home run,  a no-doubt-about-it shot to left center field, and his two out single in the fifth led to an insurance run the Panthers never needed.

Rodriguez only managed to get three base runners  in the last five innings.  Two were hit by pitches and one was walked.