Rocklin holds off Whitney to keep postseason hopes alive

In game three of the Rocklin High School baseball team's series with league-leading Whitney High, the Thunder scored early and held off the Wildcats' powerful bats to claim a 6-4 victory in Rocklin on Friday. Following a 4-run rally in the first inning, Thunder starting pitcher Troy Ueltzen and closer Aiden Frost outdueled a relentless Whitney offense. Trailing 4-0, the 'Cats scored a run in the top of the fourth but Rocklin High came back to score the winning run in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Austin Tressler blasted a double off the centerfield wall. Grant Munoz followed with a sharp hit to right, fielded by a hustling Tyler Allen. However, Tressler managed to slide under the tag at the plate to give the Thunder the edge they would need for the win. The victory improved Rocklin High's record (4-5) in the Sierra Foothill League, tying Rocklin for third with Folsom. It's likely that five Sierra Foothill League teams will make it into the playoffs. "It is just unfortunate, when you look at our record, they really haven't come together," Rocklin High head coach Matt Jones said before the game. "But our goal at the end of the season is we want to be one of the last teams standing and we still are absolutely in a place where we can do that." Trailing 5-1 at the end of four innings, Whitney High continued to chip away at the lead of their cross-town rivals. In the top of the fifth inning, the Wildcats pushed across three runs to cut the deficit to one. With one out, Jax Gimenez drew a walk; two passed balls later, he was on third and came home on a base hit by Allen. Nathan Erickson got on board with a two-strike single but Ueltzen struck out the next batter for two down. That brought up Jonathan Vavak, who ripped a triple past the outstretched glove of the right fielder scoring both Allen and Erickson. "Honestly, at the end of the day, they're really good with two strikes swinging the bat to put the ball in play and putting pressure on the other team," said Whitney High head coach Jackson Watt. "Our kids listen and they do what we (say); it's awesome." In spite of the loss, the Wildcats remained in first-place in the Sierra Foothill League with a 7-2 record, 17-4 overall. That kept Whitney High one game ahead of Oak Ridge High, which beat Del Oro High, 9-3, last Friday. Rocklin High scored an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Munoz scored from second off the bat off Jack Peterson. Whitney's first run came in the top of the fourth frame when Luke Oyler came home on a sacrifice fly from Jace Gilmore. The Thunder's big inning was in the bottom half of the first. With one out, Jack Hyde doubled. Ueltzen drew a base on balls and Frost sent Hyde across the plate with a base hit. Ueltzen scored on Cameron Castor's hit to left field and Ethan Brown brought home Frost. Brown scored when Collin Huston made it to first on an error. "We have three sophomores in the lineup right now. We have seven or eight seniors hitting over .300 or at least close to .300. Those two things aren't exclusive of each other," Jones said. "You know there can be a fantastic future and these guys can still have a pretty good season." Whitney High sent pitchers Oyler, Cordon Petty and Tanner Dykstra to the mound in the contest. It was only the second league loss for the Wildcats by a combined margin of three runs. "We've got a great group of kids. They listen and are really buying into what we are trying to do and that's the key for us," Watt said. "The ultimate goal is to go as far as we can and I'm preaching to the boys to (focus) and win the day." Whitney High will open a three-game series at Del Oro (11-9, 3-6 Sierra Foothill League), Monday, host a non-league game with Woodcreek, and close out the season against Oak Ridge (12-8-1, 6-3 Sierra Foothill League). Rocklin High faces Granite Bay (7-13, 3-6 Sierra Foothill League), Monday, starting a three-game series at home. The following week will be three games against Folsom (11-8-2, 4-5 Sierra Foothill League) to wrap up the regular season.