Reedley blown out 11-0 in Easter Classic loss

FRESNO – The Reedley Pirates entered the final day of play at the 55th Annual Fresno Easter Classic looking for any spark to leave the tournament on a high note. Having lost the first three games in the tournament, the Pirates hoped to find some way of lighting a fuse for a much needed victory. 

Unfortunately, Reedley found out lighting that fuse against West Park (Roseville) proved to be a little more challenging. The Panthers jumped all over the Pirates starter Braden Ortiz for 8 runs in the first inning  to cruise away with a convincing 11-0 victory in five innings at Froese-Hannah Field at Hoover High on April 16. 

Reedley sent Ortiz, their senior southpaw, out on the bump with hopes of shutting down a Panthers offense that, entering the tournament, have averaged an impressive 10.6 runs this season. Ortiz, the lanky southpaw with a sidearm-like delivery,  simply couldn’t baffle West Park’s hitters with his repertoire of offspeed pitches and breaking balls. 

“He’s been living and dying off that changeup, and they were right on that thing today,” said Reedley head coach Russ Sauceda. 

And when Ortiz introduced the breaking ball, he still couldn’t find any way of containing the Panthers. West Park nearly batted around the order for a second time before the Pirates finally stopped the charge.

“And then, he tried to go to a secondary pitch, a breaking ball, and that’s one he kind of left up, and couldn’t find command of that one,” said Sauceda. “And then, obviously, you get behind in some count and nothing is left but a fastball. These guys are good hitters and they’re not going to miss that.”

The Pirates offense was held in check by West Park’s trio of Caden Freidenfelt, Bradley Hunter and Pratham Kumar. The Panthers’ junior and senior hurlers surrendered just two hits in the game. 

For Reedley (9-9) this loss stings a little more knowing that they had to find some way of recovering after dropping their first three games in this prestigious tournament. 

In their previous losses to Red Bluff, Edison and Hoover, the Pirates beat themselves as much as their opponents did. And for a team that came into the tournament, looking forward to some victories, as much as the history of this cherished event, their excitement quickly eroded. 

“Just playing in the Easter Classic, it’s been pretty fun, as far as history goes,” said Sauceda. “Schedule wise, that’s something, you know, we’re not too concerned about. I was just more concerned about our ability to play the game the right way. It was a tough week for us.”

With the Easter Classic now in the rear view mirror, Reedley must find a way to regroup and learn from the mistakes and the competition that had them hopping back home with a limp. 

Despite Reedley coming up empty, there’s still plenty of time to right the ship and get back on course to finish strong heading into the final month of play. 

The Pirates have nearly a week off before they begin the most crucial stretch of their season mostly in league play. And Sauceda knows how capable his team is of cleaning up the fundamentals just in time to get hot down the stretch. 

“Good teams get hot at the end, and if we get back to some fundamentals and play the way I know we’re capable of, I still feel pretty positive playing into May,” said Sauceda.