Whitney baseball squad stays unbeaten in PVL

Whitney High's varsity baseball team played games on four consecutive days recently and won the two games that mattered most.Whitney went 2-2 during the stretch that ended Saturday but it went 2-0 in Pioneer Valley League play. Whitney opened this stretch with an 11-7 victory at El Dorado on March 18 and lost 7-6 at River Valley the next day. The Wildcats then beat visiting Mesa Verde 10-0 on Friday and lost to visiting Lincoln of Stockton 9-3 on Saturday.The games against El Dorado and Mesa Verde were PVL contests while the other two games were non league.The Wildcats, which played Placer on Wednesday, are now 5-4 overall and 3-0 in the PVL. They will host Lincoln on Friday and host Colfax next Wednesday, both games at 4 p.m.Whitney senior Vinnie Orozco pitched all six innings against Mesa Verde in a game that was shortened by an inning due to the 10-run mercy rule. Orozco allowed two hits and one walk while striking out 12.Austin Cairns (3-for-4, four runs, two RBI, homer), Orozco (2-4, run, RBI, double), Darrel Nygard (2-4, run, RBI, double) and Cody Borst (1-2, two RBI) led the Whitney offense and Cairns, Derek Knutty and Anthony Stang each stole two stolen bases.Knutty started on the mound in the victory over El Dorado, giving up four hits, one walk, one run and one earned run while collecting five strikeouts in four innings.Whitney led 9-0 after 3 and ½ innings and held on for the win. Cairns, Orozco and Cody Cesna each pitched at least one inning in relief.Orozco (4-4, two runs, RBI), Cairns (4-5, two runs, two RBI, double) and Carlos Parra (2-4, two runs, two RBI) led the Whitney offense.Whitney managed just five hits in Saturday's loss to Lincoln of Stockton as Nygard doubled and Cairns, Charlie Hetland, Orozco and Knutty each singled. Tyler Nation (2.1 innings, seven runs, three earned runs, three walks, two strikeouts) and Cesna (2.2 innings, two runs, two earned runs, one hit, one walk, one strikeout, four hit batters) both pitched for Whitney.Borst pitched five innings against River Valley, giving up three runs, two earned runs, six hits and one walk while striking out one. He also went 2-3 at the plate with a run scored, a RBI and a double. Nation (2-2, three runs, RBI, double) and Patrick Stole (1-4, two RBI) were the other offensive leaders for the Wildcats.