The California Pintos hosted Russellville March 31 at the California Sports Complex where they defeated the Indians 2-1.
After three scoreless innings, Zach Holliday got the ball rolling for California when he ripped a double in the fourth inning that drove Landon Mouse home to give the Pintos a 1-0 edge.
The Indians answered with one run in the fifth inning thanks to a single by Zach Voss that drove Ryland Johnson home to even the score at 1-1.
Burke Brant opened the fifth inning for the Pintos with a double, followed with a double by Bret Volmert that drove Brant home, and California led 2-1.
The Indians attempted a comeback in the seventh inning. Clayton Thompson got on base with a double, however, hits by Tanner Morrow, Nick Haslag and Zach Voss were all fielded by California shortstop Landon Mouse who got the outs to end the inning and ultimately the game, and the Pintos won 2-1.
Clayton Meyer recorded the loss with 12 strikeouts.
Burke Brant pitched the first five innings for the Pintos and recorded six strikeouts. Jaden Barr pitched the last two innings.
"Burke and Jaden were an excellent one-two punch against Russellville," California Coach Jason Gatlin said. "Burke pitched a great game and Jaden followed up with a great save."
Brant led California hits with a double and a single. Holliday and Volmert each had a double and RBI, and Mouse recorded a double.
"We didn't score a lot of runs, but the boys came through when we needed it," Gatlin said. "It was a good win and a win to be proud of."
Meyer led Russellville hits with two singles. Clayton Thompson had a double, and Voss had a single and RBI. Haslag and Caleb Harrison each contributed a single as well.
"This was the type of game that's decided on how good our execution was and everything gets magnified in a one-run game," Russellville Coach Lucas Branson said. "It's good for us to learn from that and move on to the next game so we can be better when these situations happen again."
Russellville won the JV game 7-5. Seth Kuda recorded the win with six strikeouts.
Alex Thompson led Russellville's JV hits with a single and two RBI. Kuda and Cole Dawson each had a single and RBI, and Noah Stubinger contributed a single.
The Pintos traveled to Westphalia Friday, where California's varsity suffered a 14-4 loss to the Comets in five innings.
Fatima led 2-1 after the first inning and 5-3 after two innings. The third inning was the difference for the Comets as they scored seven runs to pull ahead 12-3. The Pintos managed one run in the fifth, but Fatima went on to take the win 14-4.
The Pintos had seven hits including two home runs, one by Randy Allee and one by Barr. The Comets had 16 hits.
"Fatima is a tough team and they had their bats going," Gatlin said. "We gave them too many opportunities to score and we just couldn't seem to close out the innings. We couldn't generate enough offense, even though the boys did the best they could to hang with Fatima."
Brant pitched two innings for California and recorded three strikeouts. Mouse pitched one inning and recorded one strikeout.
Logan Vogel recorded the win for Fatima with seven strikeouts.
California's JV lost 8-0 to Fatima.
The Pintos (3-2) will play at Clinton at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The JV game will follow.