Baseball Recap: East Union Comes Up Short

East Union extended their losing streak to three on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 13-12 in the process. They fell 8-4 to the Oakdale Mustangs. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Mustangs this season, with their most recent loss being a 14-3 defeat on Wednesday.

Joe Alvarez

Earned Runs

03/21/25 vs Central Catholic	7
03/28/25 @ Patterson	5
03/01/25 vs Turlock	3
02/21/25 @ Lincoln	3
03/10/25 @ Laguna Creek	2
+ 2 more games

Joe Alvarez put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits. He is becoming a predictor of East Union's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 3-1 (and 10-11 when he doesn't). Alvarez was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.

Alvarez wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Heath, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Heath has become a key player for East Union: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 7-11 otherwise. Brayden Camara was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.

As for Oakdale, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-9 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games.

On Oakdale's side, Griffin Costa was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. That's the most stolen bases Costa has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Eric Velazquez, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base.

East Union didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 5-4 win against Manteca on the 21st. As for Oakdale, they have also already played their next game, an 11-0 victory against Los Banos on the 22nd.