TEAM AWARDS AND ALL LEAGUE HONORS

TEAM AWARDS AS OF 5-24-22

Varsity

MVP - Drew Giannini

Highest Batting Avg - Jacob Jones .388

Most Improved - Josh Celestine

Captains

Giannini and Frederick

Scholar Athlete Patches

Drew Frederick - 4.0

Drew Giannini - 4.0

Trevor Jennings - 4.0

A.J. Verduzco 4.0

Tyler Pahulu 3.83

Joey Conti 3.8

ALL LEAGUE

Drew Giannini received 1st Team honors as a infielder.  2nd Team has Junior Jacob Jones on the list as a pitcher.  Honorable mentions included Juniors Jordan Hall and Josh Celestine.

St. Mary's Max Ortega was the league MVP, Lodi's Dominic Brassesco was the Most Valuable Pitcher, and the Most Valuable Offensive Player went to Tokay's Cade Campbell.

Full list here.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

              1|2|3|4|5|6|7|   R|    H |  E

West 0|0|0|0|0|X|X|    0 |   2 | 2

Tracy 4|0|9|0|X|X|X| 13 | 15| 1

Hundreds of photos uploaded here

Photos of SR Day families here

The retiring coach got the W and four seniors shared in an offensive hit parade which included  Drew Frederick  with 2 singles and 2 runs scored, Drew Giannini with a double and 2 runs scored, Cooper Wilcox a double and 2 runs scored, and finally Joey Conti who belted 2 singles and a RBI Sac Fly.  That was just some of the offensive firepower in a fun afternoon at the ball park to close out the 2022 Bulldog Baseball season.

Not only did the seniors get a lot of offensive action, but the young guns played a pivotal role too.  Jordan Hall homered in the 3rd and singled too.   A.J. Verduzco had a stellar day at the plate generating a single in the first, a double in the 3rd, and a 3 run bomb in the extended 3rd inning as well.  He would scored 3 times and collect 4 RBIs. 

Junior Jordan Hall wrapped up a fantastic year on the mound throwing the first four innings of the game.  He would limit West to just two hits while collecting three strikeouts.   The pitching duties were turned over to Drew Frederick in the 5th and final inning as the senior got West to go down 1-2-3 and give Coach Alkire his 440th and final victory.

I've got a lot of multimedia content to work through and get online.  Please be patient as I sort through a 700 photos and all the video files.

COACHES FINAL COMMENTS

"It was an exciting and emotional day for me and I think the players as well," said Coach Alkire. " I was really satisfied to see us get those four runs on the board in the bottom of the 1st as it seemed to really take the initial pressure of the day I was feeling off my shoulders.  I felt more relaxed and I think our players felt it as well. "

"I have to compliment our pitcher Jordan Hall for being so alert in the top of the first to see the West baserunner on 3rd sprint home unexpectedly and try to steal a run.  He quickly got the ball to Josh Celestine to eliminate the threat."

"There was a lot of good hitting, today, but  I've got to shine the spotlight on A.J. Verduzco.  He had the game of his varsity career.   A.J. produced three runs, a single, double, and his first homerun of the year.  He works really hard for us and he has really turned the corner offensively the latter part of the season and been an offensive weapon.  I really hope this recent success carries over for him in his baseball journey. "

Alkire also complimented his pitchers.  "Jordan Hall was really good on the mound with no walks, only two hits, and  then he produced his own homerun on the offensive side.  That plus his heads up play in the top of the first, and I'd say he had a very nice day.   Drew Frederick got his only pitching appearance of the season in the 5th and took care of business to close out the game and his varsity career.

"We were very aggressive at the plate and I'm really satisfied to see the results of our coaching take shape the last 6-7 games as we have been swinging more on 1st and 2nd pitch fastballs and not sitting on as many pitches.  Our winning record down the stretch reflected that more aggressive approach at the plate."

For Alkire bringing 29 years of coaching to a close today was an emotional ride.  "I woke up feeling very excited but also feeling some pressure on how the events of the day were going to go down.  I wanted to make sure things were smooth and that I responded in the right way to appropriately honor the people I was going to see and the things that were going to be said.  In the end I felt it was an amazing day, a complete day for me and something I will most certainly never forget.  I'll just sum it up as a feel good day," said the Tracy High Coach as he retired for the night and for his career.

Frederick 4AB, 2R, 2H, 1RBI, 1SB

Jones 4AB, 1R, 2H, 0RBI

Giannini 3AB, 2R, 1H, 1RBI, 2B, 1BB, 1SB

Wilcox 3AB, 2R, 1H, 3RBI, 2B

Hall 3AB, 2R, 2H, 2RBI, HR

Verduzco 3AB, 3R, 3H, 4RBI, 2B, HR

Celestine 3AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI

Jennings 2AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Oneto 1AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI

Conti 2AB, 0R, 2H, 1RBI, SAC

Pahulu 0AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Pitching

Hall (W) 4 IP, 0R, 2H, 3K, 0BB, 0ER, 69 pitches

Frederick 1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1K, 0BB, 0ER, 9 pitches

In the photo above, West High players present a plaque to Coach Vic Alkire as he coaches his 2nd to last game.  "I got pretty emotional about that surprise", said Alkire to me during the game.   "That was a real class act by them.  I'm just a baseball coach and never expected the kind of recognition that I'm getting.  It is very moving and touching to me."

Varsity Monday, May 2, 2022

Tracy-0 3-2-0 -2-0-X=7R-10H-0E

West-0-0 -0-0-3-1-0=4R-5H-0E

Frederick  4-0-2-2

Jones——-4-0-1-0

Giannini—-1-1-0-0. 2BB

Wilcox——3-1-1-0

Hall———-2-2-1-0  BB

Verduzco-3-2-3-2.  2B

Celestine-2-0-1-3. 2B. Sac

Pahulu—-3-0-0-0

Oneto——0-0-0-0

Jennings  3-1-1-0

Conti——-0-0-0-0

Pitching:

Wilcox——6 in 4 runs 5 hits 3 K’s 1 BB. 3 ER  92 pitches

Giannini—-1 in  0 R  0 hits  0 K’s 0 BB  0 ER. 12 pitches.

Tracy was led by Josh Celestine’s 3 runs batted in follow by Drew Frederick and A.J. Verduzco’ 2 RBI’s each. Verduzco had his best day at the plate this year with his 2 RBI’s along with 3 hits, a double and also scored 2 runs.

Cooper Wilcox was good tonight on the mound with 6 innings. Giannini came in to pitch the 7th inning and close the door on West.

We are back at it again tomorrow at 4:00 P.M. at West High School. Jacob Jones will be on the mound tomorrow for the Bulldogs.

JV

Wyatt Brandt wins a pitchers duel 2-1 vs West.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

390 photos here

Tracy Bulldogs    0|0| 3| 1| 2| 0| 0|   6R|9H|1E

West Wolfpack  2| 0| 0|2| 0| 0| 0|   4R|8H|0E

West jumped out to an early first inning lead as four consecutive singles were registered by Trenton Wood, Kyler Hickman, Dallin Silcox and Trujillo that generated two runs.  As to be expected by his pitching personality, Jacob Jones was unfazed on the mound by the West lead.    Waiting for his offense to put some runs on the board, Jacob would retire the next six batters in the 2nd and 3rd innings.

Tracy took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 3rd when Drew Frederick doubled, Jones singled, and then Drew Giannini crushed a homerun to right.  Tracy had the chance to do more damage that inning but stranded three Bulldogs.  

Tracy added one more run in the 4th when Frederick led off with a walk, Jones singled, and Cooper Wilcox picked up a RBI on a sacrifice.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, the Wolfpack came back and roughed up Jones a bit getting two runs on 2 hits and 2 walks to tie the game at four a piece.

In the top of the 5th Tracy took a 6-4 lead with a lead off walk by A.J. Verduzco followed by a strong RBI triple by Austin Oneto .  He would score the 2nd run of the inning on a Sac Fly to left by Joey Conti.

That would be all the scoring in the game as Oneto came in for relief in the final two innings and shut down West with 4 strikeouts and only one hit allowed.

Coach Alkire had several players he wanted to mention in his postgame remarks.  "I gave Austin Oneto his first start in the outfield today and he had a nice all around day on the field.  Not only did he knock in what would become the winning run, but he scored our 6th run of the day shortly after his triple in the 5th inning.  Right after that he took the mound for Jones and faced just seven batters in the final two innings striking out four. "     

"Our coaching staff felt Jones was having a nice performance on the mound today, but he had gotten only four days rest before this start and we were worried about fatigue as we hit the later innings.  That was the reason we brought Oneto in when we did.   Jones also helped himself with 3 base hits on the day."  

"Probably the biggest turn of events was when we trailed 2-0 in the 3rd and Drew Giannini clobbered that three run homerun.  That really put the momentum back with us from that point forward," said Alkire.  

"I thought it was an evenly matched game today and we left a lot of runners on base early, but we hung in there and prevailed.  I was proud of our team, said Alkire."

Frederick 4AB, 2R, 1H, 2B, 1BB, 1SB

Jones 4AB, 1R, 3H, 0RBI, 1SB

Giannini 3AB, 1R, 1H, 3RBI, 1HR, 1BB

Wilcox 3AB, 0R, 0H, 1RBI, 1 Sac Fly

Hall 3AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI, 1BB, 1SB

Verduzco, 2AB, 1R, 0H, 0RBI, 2BB, 1SB

Celestine 4AB, 0R, 2H, 0RBI, 2 2B

Oneto 2AB, 1R, 1H, 1RBI, 3B, 1HBP, 1BB

Conti 2AB, 0R, 0H, 1RBI, Sac Fly, 1BB

Jennings 0AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Pitching

Jones (W) 5 IP, 4R, 7H, 3K, 3BB, 2ER, 86 pitches

Oneto (S)  2 IP, 0R, 1H, 4K, 0BB, 0ER, 26 pitches

                                          1|2|3|4|5|6|7|   R|H|E      

Tracy Bulldogs         2|4|0|0|2|0|0|   8|9| 0

 Lodi Flames              0|0|0|0|3|0|0|   3|5|1

Friday, April 22, 2022 

Jordan Hall was outstanding on the mound for Tracy at Lodi Friday evening.  "He set the tone for us early and sliced right through their good batting lineup," said a proud Coach Alkire.  "The first four innings he was masterful allowing only one hit.  In the 5th, he walked a couple of guys and then he gave up the three run homer, but after that blemish, he was back in lockdown mode to throw only 10 pitches in the 6th inning to go 1-2-3.   We then went to Drew Giannini in the 7th and he was just on fire closing the game out."

"We left some runners on early but later we had a lot of one and two out hits with runners in scoring position.  Throughout the season that had been our nemesis, but today we broke through.  Jacob Jones Giannini, Cooper Wilcox, and Joey Conti all contributed in that way."

"We had errorless ball and with the pitching and key hits, it was one of our best games of the year," said Alkire.

The Bulldogs play at home 11 a.m. Saturday to close out the Lodi series. 

Frederick 3AB, 2R, 0H, 2BB, SB

Jones 4AB, 0R, 2H, 2RBI, 1BB

Giannini 4AB, 2R, 2H, 2RBI, 3B

Wilcox, 4AB, 0R, 2H, 2RBI

Hall 3AB, 0R, 0H , 1BB, 1SB

Verduzco 4AB, 0R ,0H

Celestine 2AB, 2R, 0H, 2BB

Pahulu 2AB, 2R, 1H, 1BB, 1HBP, 1SB

Conti 4AB, 0R, 2H, 2B

Jennings 0AB, 0R, 0H

Pitching

Hall (W) 6 IP, 3R 5H, 7K, 2BB, 3ER, 93 pitches

Giannini 1IP, 0R, 0H, 1K, 0BB, 0ER, 12 pitches

                                          1|2|3|4|5|6|7|  R|H|E    

Tracy Bulldogs         1|0|0|0|0|0|1|  2|5|1 

Lodi Flames               0|0|0|0|0|4|X|  4|6|0

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

In a quick 90 minute game, Lodi got all their runs in the 6th inning to defeat Tracy and Jacob Jones 4-2.  

"Jacob Jones was outstanding on the mound today for us," said Coach Vic Alkire.  " He pitched 5 2/3 and going into the 6th he had not given up a run or walk, and had six strikeouts throwing only  59 pitches.   In the 6th we misplayed a couple of balls and we sensed Jones was getting  a little bit tired and had walked a couple of batters, so we decided to go to Drew Giannini with two outs and the bases loaded.   Unfortunately the next batter hit a three run double to give Lodi a 4-1 lead.  Drew would finish Lodi with a strikeout."

Alkire pointed to a theme that has plagued the Bulldogs all season.  "We left runners stranded in scoring position in the 2nd and 3rd innings and that would have been a great opportunity to give Jacob more of a cushion, unfortunately he had to deal with a slim 1-0 lead for his time on the mound.   Lodi on the other hand, got their runners home with that key hit in the 6th."

Alkire highlighted the play of centerfielder Jordan Hall.  "He ran down two balls in separate innings where he made great diving catches to end a Lodi scoring threat and keep us in the game."

The Tracy starting pitcher for their home game Thursday vs Lodi is currently TBA.

Frederick 1AB, 1R, 1H, BB, HBP, SB

Jones 3AB, 0R, 1H

Giannini 3AB, 0R, 0H

Wilcox 3AB, 0R, 0H 

Hall 3AB, 0R, 1H

Verduzco 3AB, 1R, 1H, 3B

Celestine 3AB, 0R, 1H 1RBI 

Jennings 3AB, 0R, 0H 

Conti 2AB, 0R, 0H 

Williams 1AB, 0R, 0H 

Pitching

Jones (L)  5 2/3 IP, 4R, 5H, 7K 2BB, 2ER, 82 pitches

Giannini 1/3 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K, 6 pitches

                                          1|2|3|4|5|6|7|   R|H|E  

Bear Creek Bruins 1|0|0|0|0|0|2|   3|3|0  

Tracy Bulldogs          0|0|0|1|0|0|0|   1|3|1

Saturday, April 9, 2022,  10 a.m.

In a 1 hour and 45 minute pitchers duel, Bear Creek was able to get the few baserunners they had on the day home, while Tracy stranded their limited number of opportunities. 

Jordan Hall was fantastic on the mound today throwing a two hitter through six innings.  After giving up a run in the first, he did not allow the Bear Creek lineup to get a further run.  Coach Alkire noted the interesting fact that in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, he faced the minimum number of batters.  During that time one runner got on but was eliminated on the base paths.   "Jordan was just pure excellence on the mound for us today.  His performance and that of Jacob Jones yesterday were likely the two best pitching performances we have had all year," said Alkire.

Trailing 1-0, Tracy made noise in the 4th inning when Drew Giannini blasted a triple and was able to eventually score from 3rd later on a wild pitch.  The Dogs would take the 1-1 score to the 7th and handed the ball to Austin Oneto who now faced the heart of the Bruins lineup.  A walk, two stolen bases and a Bulldog throwing error  gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

In the 7th, Josh Celestine laid down a beautiful one out bunt to reach base but a double play would end the game.

100+ game photos (courtesy of Glen Silva as I had to announce the game) can be found here.

Tracy will have a modified practice schedule the week of April 11th, going Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m.   The next game will be Tuesday, April 19 at Lodi.

Frederick 2AB, 0R, 1H, 1BB

Jones 2AB, 0R, 0H, SAC

Giannini 2AB, 1R, 2H, 3B, 1BB

Wilcox 3AB, 0R ,0H

Hall 3AB, 0R , 0H

Verduzco 3AB, 0R, 0H

Celestine 3AB, 0R ,1H

Baier 3AB, 0R, 0H

Pahul 0AB, 0R, 0H

Oneto, 0AB, 0R, 0H

Conti 2AB, 0R, 0H

Pitching

Hall 6 IP, 1R, 2H, 6K, 1BB, 1ER, 69 pitches

Oneto 1 IP, 2R, 1H, 1K, 1BB, 1ER, 24 pitches

                                          1|2|3|4|5|6|7|  R|H|E 

St. Mary's Rams      1|0|0|0|1|0|0|  2|4|2

 Tracy Bulldogs        1|1|0|0|0|1|0|  3|5|2

Friday, April 8, 2022

100+ photos here.

For several weeks Coach Alkire had been telling the team they were right there in the hunt and every bit as good as any team in the league but as league play evolved the Bulldogs found themselves looking up at an 0-5 start.  A closer look at those games would show that the margin of error was always only  1-2 runs with the exception of two games.  Today showed how right Alkire has been as the Bulldogs gave the Rams a dose of solid pitching with Jacob Jones for six innings and Jordan Hall to lockdown a stressful 7th.

Offensively Tracy executed  some strategic 1st and 3rd situations to score their first two runs and then Jordan Hall got on with a single in the 6th and Elijah Gutierrez once again found home as a pinch runner capitalizing on a stolen base and a throwing error by the catcher to get what would be the winning run.  "It was interesting that we did not have an RBI today, all of our runs came through stolen bases and the throwing error," said Coach Alkire.  In all Tracy had seven stolen bases on the day.

"Jacob Jones was one of the keys to our victory today.  He limited a good Rams club to just four hits and two runs.  It was not easy for him and his composure on the mound helped him get out of trouble 5 of the 6 innings he was out there," said Alkire.  In the first four innings, St. Mary's would get runners on base after Tracy recorded two outs.  "He gave up five walks and placed a runner on 3rd twice but got clutch outs when he needed them."

Jordan Hall also had stress on the mound as he got a save in the 7th inning.  "He walked the first two and then we made a key pickoff but we fumbled an easy out on a runner advancing to 2nd and that made things much more intense then they needed to be in the final inning.  Hall would get a fly ball and strikeout to seal the win."  Hall also contributed as the leading batter today going 2-3 at the plate.

Alkire wanted to highlight the baserunning of Elijah Gutierrez.  "Unfortunately he has not been able to fully play for us this year due to injury, but he has been a disruptive force on the base paths as a pinch runner.   Once again today he got a run for us," said Alkire.

Alkire had this message for the team when they gathered postgame.  "I've always believed we were right there with anyone in our league, and some of you may not have believed that.  I think you may now be believers after today" 

Tomorrow at 10 a.m. the Dogs finish their busy week of baseball hosting Bear Creek in non league action.   "We will start Hall on the mound, throw Oneto, Jennings, Celestine, and possibly Frederick if needed.  First pitch forecast:  Sunny 68 degrees going to high of 72 during the game.

Frederick 3AB, 0R, 1H,1 SB

Jones 2AB, 1R, 0H, 1BB, 1SB

Giannini 3AB, 0R, 1H, 1SB

Wilcox 2AB, 0R, 0H, 1BB

Hall 3AB, 0R, 2H, 1SB

Gutierrez 0AB, 1R, 0H, 1SB

Verduzco 2AB, 0R, 0H, 1SAC

Celestine 3AB, 1R, 1H, 1SB

Jennings 2AB, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 1SB

Williams 2AB, 0R, 0H

Conti 0AB, 0R, 0H

Pitching:

Jones (W) 6 IP, 2R, 4H, 2K, 5BB, 2ER, 102 pitches

Hall (S) 1 IP, 0R, 0H, 0ER, 1K, 2BB, 21 pitches

                                          1|2|3|4|5|6|7|  R|H|E

St. Mary's Rams      0|0|0|4|2|0|0|  6|6|2

Tracy Bulldogs         0|0|0|4|0|1|0|  5|6|0

Photos here

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Tracy and St. Mary's started their series scoreless through the first three innings as Drew Giannini was very sharp and kept the Rams off the base paths and struck out the side in the 2nd inning.  In the 4th inning when the Rams lineup rolled over, contact was made on the ball with a couple of doubles, a walk and a single and they went up 4-0.   

Give the Bulldogs credit as they immediately responded with four runs for themselves via a single from Giannini, a walk to Cooper, a RBI double by Hall, and a RBI fielders choice by Verduzco.   St. Mary's would get two more runs in the 5th when walks came back to haunt the Bulldogs.  That would be all the scoring by the Rams as Giannini calmed things down and Hall came in to silence the 7th inning.  

The Bulldogs got one final run in the 6th when Josh Celestine led off with a single and his pinch runner Elijah Gutierrez stole two bases and then scored when the catcher threw to 2nd to get the advancing runner.

"This was a really good game between two solid teams," said Coach Alkire.  "I see improvement in our game as we play tougher opponents.  This was our second game in a row where we did not commit any errors."

"Drew dominated for the first three innings on the mound.  They roughed him up a little in the 4th, but  I like how we answered in the bottom of the 4th and then battled to the end.  I was satisfied with our effort and we had clean defense.  We produced six hits and four walks but cold not convert enough of that into further runs," said Alkire.

Cooper Wilcox will get the ball on Thursday when the Bulldogs travel to St. Mary's.

Frederick  3AB, 0R, 0H, 1BB

Jones 4AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI

Giannini 3AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI, 1BB

Wilcox 3AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI, 1BB

Hall 4AB,1R, 2H, 1RBI, 2B 

Verduzco 2AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI, 1HBP

Celestine 3AB, 1R, 1H, 1RBI

Gutierrez 0AB, 1R, 0H, 0RBI, 2SB

Jennings 2AB, 0R, 0H, 1RBI, 1HBP

Conti 2AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI, 1BB

Pahulu 0AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Pitching

Giannini (L) 6 IP, 6R, 5H, 6K, 4BB, 6ER, 98 pitches

Hall 1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K, 0BB, 0ER, 12 pitches

TROJANS GETS ONE IN THE 7TH TO DEFEAT DOGS

Friday, April 1, 2022

                                                 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|  R|H|E

LINCOLN TROJANS   0|0|1|0|2|0|1|  4|9|0

TRACY BULLDOGS     0|0|3|0|0|0|0|  3|8|0

210 photos at this link

With Jacob Jones on the mound keeping the powerful Trojan bats from launching rockets, the Tracy offense was only able to have one big inning when Jones himself doubled, Cooper Wilcox walked, Jordan Hall doubled and A.J. Verduzco belted a double to collect two RBIs.  The three run third was all the run production Tracy could muster.  Other than the third inning, Tracy had minimal Bulldogs on the bases.  Drew Giannini got there on a single in the first, Josh Celestine and Trevor Jennings singled in the 2nd, Joey Conti singled in the 4th, and Jordan Hall reached on a ball to the lower leg in the 5th.   Giannini's double in the 7th was the only scoring threat late in the game.   

"Jacob Jones was very good on the mound today for us," said Coach Vic Alkire.  "Our defense was much improved as we did not commit any errors, but the difference in the game was that Lincoln came up with some clutch hits late.   I liked how we competed today even having the tying run on second base when the game ended."

Alkire also placed a spotlight on his catcher.  "Josh Celestine had a very good game behind the plate for the second straight game as he kept the Lincoln running game under control."

Frederick 4AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Jones 4AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI, 2B

Giannini 4AB, 0R, 2H, 0RBI, 2B

Wilcox 3AB, 1R, 0H, 0RBI, 1BB

Hall 2AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI, 1HBP

Verduzco 3AB, 0R, 1H, 2RBI, 2B

Celestine 3AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI

Jennings 3AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI

Conti 2AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI

Oneto 1 AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Pahulu  0AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI

Pitching

Jones 6 IP, 3R, 7H,  XER,  5K, 1BB, 1HBP, 1WP, 94 pitches

Hall (L)  1IP, 1R, 2H, 1ER, 1K, 1BB, 1Balk, 16 pitches

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JV WIN 8-5.  FULL GAME SUMMARY WITH STATS AND COACHES COMMENTS AT THIS LINK

Frosh/Soph game summary below.