381 days.
That’s how long it’s been since the Buchanan Bears took the diamond for regular season action.
“It’s been over a year since someone else has been in that other dugout,” said head coach Brad Fontes.
The Bears’ pitching staff appeared in midseason form, however, pitching a one-hitter to lead the Bears to a 6-0 Opening Day victory over Tulare Western on Thursday.
“It’s good that they were able to throw strikes, challenge hitters and get swings,” Fontes said. “This time of year, the pitching is ahead of the hitting and our guys have worked hard to command the fastball. That’s what we’ll keep doing.”
This time of year, baseball teams are working to find a rhythm. For Fontes, that was the Bears’ focus in their season opener.
“I think being able to compete and and play against somebody other than ourselves, work through some things and get some tempo and rhythm was a big piece of what tonight was about,” Fontes said.
It took Buchanan starting pitcher Max Bernal a couple at-bats to get into a rhythm. He walked the first two batters he faced, prompting a mound visit from catcher Austin Young.
“I just had to tell myself to slow down and take a deep breath,” Bernal said. “I know I was finishing a little tall. [I told myself] just finish out in front and keep doing your thing.”
Bernal got the next three batters to fly out. The southpaw did not walk another batter for the rest of his four-inning outing. He allowed only two more baserunners — both on errors from shortstop Temo Becerra — but took both off the basepaths with double plays.
“I think he got better as he went,” Fontes said. “[Bernal is] trying to find some fastball command and that’s what we’re trying to do — pitch to contact and get swings to keep pitch counts down.”
Bernal was lifted after four innings, having thrown 52 pitches.
Bernal was opposite Tulare Western’s ace on the mound, Jack Anker. The right-hander mixed three pitches to limit the Bears to two hits through four innings on the mound.
Buchanan scored a run against Anker in the bottom of the second, when Evan Wallace walked to lead things off.
Bernal singled to right field, moving Wallace over to third. With runners on the corners, Drew Smith bunted a 0-1 pitch to the right side of the infield.
The safety squeeze worked. Anker could only throw to first as Wallace slid head-first into home plate to score the season’s first run.
Anker retired the next two batters to keep it a one-run ball game. He pitched two more scoreless innings, stranding Bears in scoring position in both frames.
“Jack Anker will probably go down as one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached,” said Tulare Western head coach Ken Searcy, who’s been at the helm for 16 years. “The guy just hates to lose and loves to compete. He didn’t want to come out of the game.”
Tulare Western had to preserve its ace’s arm with the Tulare-Visalia Invitational approaching next week and the Coca-Cola Classic the week after.
The Mustangs are playing a bit short handed early in the season, losing five varsity players to football. That left the Mustangs with only 14 players on the bench against Buchanan.
Tulare Western started two seniors — including Anker — and three juniors. The rest were sophomores and freshmen who played their first games at the varsity level on Thursday.
“To have a bunch of young kids on the field and not have them intimidated by what’s going on out here, that’s big for our program,” Searcy said.
Junior B.J. Rodriguez came in from center field to pitch the fifth inning for the Mustangs. He started by giving up an infield single to leadoff batter Sky Collins and a walk to JP Acosta.
Acosta and Collins moved to second and third on a double steal. Then, Young drove both runners home with an opposite-field single.
“We’ve been working really hard on our two-strike approach, extending pitch counts, and putting the ball in play,” Fontes said. “They’ve really bought into that and it shows.”
After Jett Ruby lined a single into left, pinch hitter Corbin Ybarra worked a full count walk to load the bases.
The next batter Smith swang at the first pitch and smacked a loud double into center field, scoring two and extending the Bears’ lead to 5-0.
One more run scored in the fifth when sophomore James Corral, who replaced Rodriguez in center field after starting at shortstop, dropped a fly ball to score Ybarra.
The six-run lead was more than enough for Buchanan’s bullpen to keep. Reliever Sam Tookoian struck out five of the six batters he retired in order.
Wallace came in to finish the game in the seventh. After picking up two quick outs, Wallace lost the combined no-hitter when Anthony Alcaraz laced a single just inside the right field line.
The UC Irvine commit struck out the next batter swinging to seal Buchanan’s first win of 2021.
Bernal, Tookoian and Wallace combined for a one-hit shutout — and all three are juniors.
“We have a good pitching staff,” Bernal said. “They work hard every day, but we’re also young. We don’t have a lot of experience so it’s going to be a grind, but I think we can do it.”
In the batter’s box, Buchanan was led by Young (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Smith (1-for-2, 3 RBIs).
Up next for Buchanan (1-0) is a highly anticipated matchup against San Joaquin Memorial. The Clovis Sports Report ranks Buchanan and Memorial as No. 1 and 2 in the Central Section, respectively, while Cal-Hi Sports lists them as No. 7 and 15 in the state.