Bear River swept by Amador in D6 semis

Bear River High School's baseball season ended Thursday as Amador completed a two-game sweep with an 8-3 victory in Lake of the Pines to advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game. The second-seeded Buffaloes (25-5-1) broke the game open with a four-run third inning and totaled 12 hits while stealing nine bases. John McPartland led Amador with two hits and two RBIs. Brad Blankenheim, Miguel Torres and Cade Baker each had two hits. Bear River starter Kaden Nicholls struck out nine across five innings, but the Bruins were unable to recover from the early deficit. Brayden Estrada went 2 for 3 for the Bruins, and Tyler Scott drove in a run. The No. 3 Bruins finished 17-12 after another deep postseason run. Amador will face either No. 1 Ripon Christian or No. 5 Colfax for the championship. In Game 1 on Tuesday, host Amador took an early lead and broke the game open with a big fifth inning on the way to a 9-3 victory over the Bruins. "Our goal was just to come out and get game one to put all the pressure on them for the next two games," said Blankenheim. "Last year, we went over there and lost to them, so that's kind of been sitting with us all offseason." Blankenheim pitched five hitless innings and struck out eight while walking three. He also belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning to punctuate the Buffaloes' victory. After a rocky first inning, Bear River starter Ryder Eason settled in on the mound, striking out eight and walking two while allowing four hits. He allowed two unearned runs in the first inning. "He pitched great. He did exactly what we wanted him to do," Bruins coach Russell Brackett said. "If we get those outs early on, his pitch count's lower and he probably goes deeper in the game. He was a bulldog today." Bear River was held without a hit until scoring three runs on five hits over the final two innings. Cooper Lunsford and Brayden Estrada each had two hits and an RBI, and Seamus McKeown also drove in a run.