Sierra bats wake up with sweep of Folsom Lake

The stakes were clear for Sierra College entering last week's Big 8 Conference series against Folsom Lake College. After six consecutive losses from back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Santa Rosa and Sacramento City, the Wolverines needed a strong showing in the three-game series to remain in the postseason race. Sierra delivered and swept the Falcons to improve to 7-8 in Big 8 play and strengthen its postseason résumé with one of its most impressive series wins of the season. "It's the game of baseball, and the fact is they just have a quick memory and get on with it," Sierra coach Josh Morton said of the team's mindset entering the series. Morton was filling in for manager Ryan Evangelho following an ejection in the previous series. The Wolverines wasted no time resetting the tone. Sierra piled up 34 runs across the first two games, hammering 33 hits while getting key contributions throughout the lineup. The Wolverines won the first two games 15-2 and 19-8. Luke Oyler and Chris Fisher powered the offense in each game, with each hitting home runs and combining for 13 RBIs while Landon Vetter, Cooper Kunis and Ty Hennessy kept constant pressure on the bases. Game two also showcased Sierra's adjusted pitching formula. After Troy Ueltzen made his second start of the season, Matias Michel delivered 6 2/3 innings of dominant relief, striking out eight to stabilize a bullpen that struggled during the losing streak. "We've struggled with our bullpen recently," Morton said. "We kind of made the plan now that Troy's healthy, to start Troy and then finish with Matias to kind of solidify a win on a Thursday. It's exactly what we were going to do." The Wolverines completed the sweep Friday behind a balanced effort, collecting 12 hits in a 6-3 win. Kunis and Vetter each drove in two runs and Jack Ghufran pitched 5 1/3 solid innings before Fernando Paredes and Blake Andre closed. Morton said the bigger focus extends beyond simply beating Folsom Lake. "We kind of addressed it last week. It's the second half of conference play," Morton said. "It's not about beating Folsom Lake. It's just about winning these next series and clawing our way into the playoffs, because as soon as we get in, it's anybody's ballgame." Sierra knows that better than anyone. The Wolverines made a run to the 3C2A Final Four last season despite not winning the Big 8. The Wolverines are 16-12 overalls and were scheduled to host Modesto on Tuesday.