PITTSBURG — Heritage didn’t play its best game.
But when it mattered most, the Patriots found a way to get the job done.
After struggling to score runs for five innings, Heritage came alive late to beat Pittsburg 4-3 on Thursday and firmly secure its spot as the top team in the Bay Valley Athletic League standings.
Heritage junior Alonzo Alvarez was 3 for 4 and had two doubles. Elijah Ward totaled two hits and scored a run while KC Karbowski had a hit and an RBI.
Patriots pitcher JJ Kinnaird pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out three while allowing two runs.
“All week we were preparing to play the best team in our area,” Ward said. “We knew we had to come out and score early and play dominant defense. That’s what we did.”
Pittsburg came into Thursday’s game motivated to even the score against its division rival as the Pirates dropped the first of the two-game series 6-2 at Heritage on Tuesday.
Due for a get-back game, Pittsburg looked dominant early on.
In the top half of the fourth inning, pitcher Josh Painter got caught in a jam with Heritage runners occupying second and third base and no outs. The senior retired the next batter and helped force a double play later in the inning to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Pittsburg’s offense broke through.
Niko Fuentes’ single to center field scored Cole Leschak and Anthony Garcia to put the Pirates up 2-0.
A half inning later, Painter retired three of four batters as it looked like the Pirates were in complete control of the game heading into the sixth.
Painter finished the day by striking out seven batters in five innings.
The Heritage crowd sat quietly through the first five innings, but that all changed in the sixth.
With his pitch count at 78, Pittsburg coach Marco Cartagena subbed out Painter as he is still working his way back from an injury sustained earlier in the season.
As the Pirates relieved their most effective pitcher, the Patriots took advantage.
The first three Heritage runners singled, loading the bases for KC Karbowski with no outs. The senior singled to drive in Gio Martini and give the Patriots their first run of the game. Jace Bernard tied the game 2-2 after he was walked in the next at-bat.
Sophomore Jett Guevara batted in the go-ahead runs when he doubled on a laser to the center field wall, putting the Patriots up 4-2.
“They just got hot and got a couple of hits in a row,” Cartagena said about losing the lead in the sixth inning. “We were lucky it was only four runs.”
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Pittsburg had chances in the final two innings to possibly tie or take the lead, but couldn’t convert with runners in scoring position.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Pirates had the bases loaded with one out but grounded into a double play that ended the inning.
In the seventh, Leschak scored from second on a wild pitch to cut the Heritage lead to a run. With a runner on third and two outs, Pittsburg hit a ground ball that landed in front of relief pitcher Jason Stevens. The junior quickly recovered and threw out the runner at first, ending the game and giving Heritage a crucial win.
“We knew they were going to be fired up,” said Heritage coach Kevin Brannan. “We knew if we could find a way to get ahead of them, we would play really well. We’re best when we’re in front.”
The win gives Heritage a two-game lead for first place in the BVAL standings. The Brentwood school has four league games left – a two-game series against second-place Freedom before playing fourth-place Liberty in a two-game sequence.
Pittsburg dropped to third place in the standings and is currently on a three-game skid, but Cartagena was happy the team brought the fight to a rivalry game.
“We got to have this energy moving forward,” he said. “The playoff atmosphere today, we can use to our benefit. But these are also just growing pains. We’re a young team and we’ll keep improving and getting better from here.”
The Patriots, who are ranked eighth in the Bay Area News Group rankings, believe they should be considered on par with top teams like Acalanes, Granada and De La Salle as the best team in the North Coast Section.
“I think we’ve grown since we lost to Acalanes in our first game and I think we’re the best team in the Bay Area right now,” Karbowski said.