Twelve Bridges sweeps Wheatland, advances to D-IV championship

The Twelve Bridges High School baseball team has made history this season. After securing their first playoff berth in program history, the Raging Rhinos picked up their first postseason win last week over El Dorado. This week, the third-seeded Raging Rhinos faced No. 2 Wheatland in a three-game series with a spot in the Division IV Sac-Joaquin Section championship game on the line. The Pirates swept the Rhinos earlier in the season, but Twelve Bridges entered the game a different team than that previous matchup and on a recent hot streak as winners of nine of its last 10. Game one: Twelve Bridges 7, Wheatland 6 The Rhinos fell behind 3-0 but battled back with four runs in the third to take a brief lead. The Pirates pushed two across in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Twelve Bridges scored three runs in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead and while Wheatland was able to get one back, the Rhinos pulled out a win on the road. Logan Conley drove in two runs for the Rhinos while Logan Sanders collected three hits and an RBI. Jackson Whitesides and James Romanov picked up two hits each. Diego Castro earned the win, pitching 4 1/3 innings. Castro struck out six and allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits. Matt Henry, Dom Perone and Trent Grandquis combined to finish the job out of the bullpen, holding Wheatland to one run. Game two: Twelve Bridges 2, Wheatland 0 The series shifted to Lincoln on Wednesday with the Rhinos looking to close it out and punch their ticket to the championship game. Twelve Bridges didn't muster as much offense as in game one but did just enough in a 2-0 victory to sweep the series. Brayden Wooster helped the Rhinos strike first in the second inning, blasting a single through the infield that allowed Jameson Barnes to score on an error. Whitesides added to the lead in the third with an RBI double to make it 2-0. Matt Henry was dominant on the mound for the Rhinos, pitching a four-hit shutout. Henry pounded the zone, struck out 12 and didn't walk any batters. Twelve Bridges advances to the D-IV section final on Wednesday, May 22, at Sacramento City College against either No. 4 Placer or No. 1 Casa Roble. The Rhinos have faced both teams this season, beating Placer 5-4 and falling to Casa Roble 10-2.