RENEGADES RISE TO CHALLENGE

The Ohlone baseball team looked the part of a state heavyweight in a 9-3 victory over Hartnell Thursday afternoon under threatening clouds.
The impressive win, which put the Renegades firmly atop the Coast Pacific, had much to behold:
• Lefty Brian Martinez provided typically outstanding starting pitching.
• Dalton Vanhille and Miguel Cazares brought the Big Flies.
• AJ Curtis delivered in the clutch.
• The defense up the middle had poise and panache.
• Relievers Andrew Amato and Joseph Jennison nailed it down.
The roaring Renegades (20-4, 5-0), ranked No. 4 in the North, will look to complete a three-game sweep over Hartnell (8-17, 5-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Salinas.
Ohlone has 16 wins in its last 17 games and a seemingly a stiff wind at its back. In fact, the jet stream even played a role Thursday as both towering two-run homers, crushed by Vanhille and Cazares, traveled on Mother Nature's shoulders over the wall in left.
The robust wind toward the '347' sign was a bit of a freak of nature.
"It's weird. It doesn't do that here a lot. Usually that flag is nice and quiet," Ohlone head coach Mike Curran said of the wind. "Today we noticed at the beginning of the game, a couple of guys were peaking at it: We said, 'If we could get a couple balls elevated today we might be OK.' I think any other day those are two fly ball outs."
So, did Cazares kind of watch the ball float in the second inning as he gave the team a 2-0 lead?
"A little bit," the outstanding shortstop said modestly. "I feel like I was a little out in front, but you stand behind the ball as much as I can."
Cleary, there was a lot to love about this one. Martinez (6-1) set the tone, setting the Panthers down in order five times. He allowed five hits and two earned runs over seven innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
"He's the best," Curran said of Martinez. "He's just sort of even Steven, has been for two years. He was 12-0 last year and he's (6-1) this year and he just does what you need to do at this level. He pounds the zone, stays at the knees and throws the off speed for strikes."
With Hartnell pressing the issue, having trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with an unearned run in the sixth, Cal State Fullerton-bound Curtis delivered a clutch two-strike, two-run single to left in the bottom of the frame. It was a big moment for Curtis.
"He'd been struggling a little bit, so he needed it … We expect him to do that," Curran said of his first baseman and No. 3 hitter.
Beto Artero, the No. 9 hitter who played a key role, singled home Cazares, who doubled, in the seventh to up the margin to 8-3.
It was all enough to make Curran smile on a blustery day.
"We're just trying to do what we do, which is stay even keel," Curran said. "We just ask our guys offensively to have good at-bats every day. Pitchers, our philosophy's pretty simple: Pound the zone and let our defense work behind us, so the guys are doing a good job, having a good time and playing hard at the same time."