FULLERTON – On Wednesday, Troy beat Sonora for the first time since 2012, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the teams’ series. The win also tied the teams for first place in the Freeway League baseball standings.
As the scene shifted to Troy High for Friday’s game, the Warriors had a chance to start a new trend in the series.
Troy seized the opportunity behind Jacob Alvarez’s three-hitter to beat Sonora, 2-0, and take sole possession of first place.
“It’s awesome,” Alvarez said. “We haven’t beaten them since I’ve been here, and now to beat them back-to-back, it’s great.”
Alvarez, a 5-11 senior, scattered three hits in seven innings and registered six strikeouts, including one to end the game with the tying run at the plate.
“He did a great job of mixing speeds,” Troy coach David Shirota said. “His splitter-change was down-and-away consistently. I thought it was a tough pitch to hit hard.”
Troy (12-7-2, 7-2) scratched out its two runs in the fourth inning.
Kris Amparo led off the fourth with an infield single and was able to score on a Dom Vaccher single up the middle that barely rolled onto the outfield grass. Vaccher later scored on a single by Jon Banuelos.
Amparo finished 2 for 3 with two singles.
The fourth inning broke up a solid performance by Sonora starter Jon Paul Sarro. Sarro struck out five and allowed five hits, all of them singles.
With the 2-0 lead in hand, Alvarez retired nine of the final 11 batters for Sonora (12-8-1, 6-3). The Raiders had a base runner in the fifth (an an error) and in the seventh (two-out single by Eli Villalobos).
“Just had to throw strikes, keep it low and nothing over the fence,” Alvarez said.
The Warriors extended their winning-streak to six games.
“Sounds kind of weird to say,” Shirota said. “We struggled early on trying to figure out our lineup. It’s been really nice. This is a special win.”
