Panthers, Marauders fall in playoff action

The Porterville baseball team, seeded 11th in the CIF-Central Section Division III playoffs, lost 7-1 Wednesday to No. 6 Fresno.

The Panthers finished the season with an 11-14-1 record overall.

“I thought this was a real good season for as young as we were,” Porterville coach Mike Hill said.

The Panthers scored their lone run in the sixth inning. Junior Joel Smithey singled and stole second before he was brought home by sophomore Robert Burcham’s base hit.

Sophomore Matt Watson started on the hill for the Panthers and tossed five innings. He allowed five runs, seven hits, four walks and recorded one strikeout.

“He didn’t throw bad,” Hill said of Watson. “(The Warriors) just got big hits when they needed them.”

Porterville, which struck out 14 times against Warriors (21-7) senior pitcher Anthony Ocegueda, was only able to tally four hits.

“He knew how to pitch,” Hill said of Ocegueda. “He wasn’t very big, but he could deal.”

In D-II playoff action, No. 14 Monache (12-12) lost 32-7 to third-seeded Frontier (19-13).

The Marauders scored two in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth and another pair in the sixth.