DANVILLE, CA – The Arroyo Seco Saints (7-4) topped the Walnut Creek Crawdads (8-4) at Monte Vista High School on Saturday with a 16-4 final score.  

In the Saints’ previous game, the squad defeated the Sonoma Stompers 1-0. Joey Milto (transfer portal) shared how coming off a win kept a positive momentum for today.  

“Getting a win last night was huge,” Milto said. “We wanted to score more than one run tonight and help the pitchers out.” 

The Crawdads were in a similar position coming off a win but had a final score margin against the Philippines Baseball Group of 15-1.  

Starting pitcher for the Saints, Zach Erdman (Texas Tech University), delivered five strong innings for the Saints, allowing no runs and only two hits.  

The Saints’ offense started off cold in the first inning but got hot in the second inning with 10 RBIs.  

Jax Ryan (Arizona State University) started the Saints off strong with a triple. Both Jacob Freer (Azusa Pacifica University) and Milto walked to load the bases. Jonny Garber (Arizona State University) added two to the board with an RBI single. Lane Haworth (Wichita State University) put up another RBI single. 

Trotter Enright (Long Beach State) and Levi Maddela (Shorter University) were hit by pitches which brought in two runs. Jack Little (Baylor University) walked to add another run to the board. Up to the plate for the second time in the second inning, Ryan hit an RBI groundout. Freer put up a sacrifice fly, tallying the score to 8-0.  

To extend the Saints’ lead even further, Milto hit a 340-foot shot for a 2-run homerun. After the 2nd inning, the Saints led the game 10-0.  

In a post-game interview, Milto shared his thoughts and emotions regarding his first homerun this season.  

“It felt good for sure and it was nice to throw one out there,” Milto explained.  

Both sides were scoreless in the following two innings, until Garber added an RBI single to make the score 11-0.  

The Saints were not done yet as the bats started to get hot again in the 6th. Bases were loaded, and Keon Moseni (Central Arkansas) got an RBI single off the opposing team’s error. Haworth followed with a sacrifice fly.  

With a score of 13-0, Enright blasted a 370-foot shot over center field, extending the Saints’ lead to 16-0.  

The Crawdads tried to fight back in the 7th, with a single homerun from Zach Justice (Oregon). However, the game ended with three unearned runs for the Crawdads, making the final score 16-4.  

Tonight’s dominant win for the Saints was a true team effort. The pitching staff held the Crawdads to no runs through six innings, and the offense put up 16 runs and 13 hits.  

Offensive standouts, Milto and Enright added the second and third homeruns for the Saints this summer season.   

Looking ahead, the Saints will travel back to their home field to face the Conejo Oaks on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. PST.  

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Taylor Dowdy (Arizona)
• Edited by Saints reporter Nick Olquin (Ashland)
• Saints photographer Carina Sanchez (Cal State LA)