The Dublin High Varsity Baseball team traveled to the Sacramento-area at the outset of Spring Break (April 3-5), winning four games in three days to win the El Camino Tournament.
Dublin’s championship run culminated with a 4-2 over Folsom at Folsom College on Wednesday, April 5th. Senior pitcher Cole Gaynor threw a complete game to limit the Bulldogs offensively, while the Gaels pounded out 12 hits to claim the title. Sophomore Noah Charlton went 2-for-3 with 3 runs batted in (RBI), and Jaden D’Souza, Brendan Moddelmog, and Tyler Thompson also had multi-hit games to help lead Dublin to the title. The game was tied 2-2 before the Gaels scored the decisive runs in the bottom of the 6th inning and held on for the victory.
D’Souza and Moddelmog also played instrumental roles in Tuesday’s 7-6 semifinal win in 8 innings over Lincoln, as both players notched multiple hits. In addition, Moddelmog pitched 2 2/3 innings before turning the game over to senior Carston Pearson who pitched the final inning to record the win. Pearson was the other Gael who finished with multiple hits in a game which saw Dublin jump out to a 6-0 advantage in the second inning and then withstood a charge by the Fighting Zebras in the later innings before coming out on top.
In the tournament’s opening game on Monday, Dublin defeated Bella Vista 8-3. The Gaels fell behind early against Bella Vista, trailing 3-0 after the first inning before scoring 8 unanswered runs to pull away with a game that was closer than the final score would indicate after Dublin scored 4 runs in the 7th inning. Desi Lopez through 6 shutout innings to earn the win, while Pearson, Zach Wong, and Mikey Allen each contributed two hits.
Dublin won the second half of the doubleheader on Monday 9-4 against tournament host El Camino. D’Souza and Moddelmog once again led the way, as they combined to go 7-for-7. Moddelmog had two home runs and 4 RBI’s to highlight a great tournament for the sophomore.
The Gaels are now 11-2 overall and 3-1 in East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) action. It is anticipated that after four consecutive victories and a tournament championship that Dublin will likely remain in the Bay Area News Group’s Top 10 rankings when they are released.
Dublin’s next game is at home on Tuesday, April 11th against the defending North Coast Section champions De La Salle in a make-up game that was previously rained out. The Gaels will then proceed with their regularly scheduled home-and-home series against Amador Valley, playing the Dons at home on Wednesday, April 12th and then going on the road on Friday, April 14th. All three games are expected to have postseason implications both for EBAL and NCS
