DANVILLE, Calif. — The Walnut Creek Crawdads had a chance to strike in the bottom of the eighth inning. They had the bases loaded with no outs and had just driven San Francisco Seagulls’ right-hander Dwyer Lewis from the game after a masterful start. With Lewis gone, it was the perfect chance for the Crawdads to flip the script of the quiet, 2-2 game on its head.

Crawdads shortstop Ryley Leininger was the first man to face the left-handed reliever that the Seagulls had brought in, Ben Eisenhauer. Leininger had the disadvantage in the lefty-lefty match-up, but he didn’t let that or the high stakes of the at-bat affect him. He kept his approach simple, and it paid off. He used the center of the field, driving a 2-2 pitch back up the middle and off second baseman Jaylen Hodges’ glove, finding grass in the outfield for a two-run single. The Crawdads had struck.

“Lefty-lefty, a little bit of anxiety there,” Leininger said. “But at the end of the day, the ball has to get over the plate, and it’s either going to be a ball or a strike. Got to hit it or take it.”

Walnut Creek (14-6) kept the ball rolling after Leininger’s single, heating up to match the Tuesday evening weather at Monte Vista High School, defeating the San Francisco Seagulls (5-18), 7-4, even after a late push from the visitors. The win gave the Crawdads the season sweep over the Seagulls and ensured the victory by staying on the gas pedal after Leininger’s lead-providing knock.

“I tell guys hitting with runners in scoring position, you have to (swing) early in the count,” Crawdads head coach Brant Cummings said. “You don’t want to fall behind, because they’re going to try to get ahead of you eventually.”

Crawdads right fielder Joey Donnelly — who rejoined the team Tuesday after committing to play his graduate season at Fordham — subscribed to that philosophy when he came up to bat in the eighth inning. Some time had passed since Leininger’s single, the Crawdads had recorded two outs, but the bases were loaded and just like in Leininger’s at-bat, the opportunity was there.

Donnelly ambushed Eisenhauer on a first-pitch challenge, driving the ball into right-center field for a double and bringing two runs in to score, moving left fielder Kam Taylor to third as well. Taylor would score on an infield single from Brandon Clizbe, giving the Crawdads more than enough buffer.

“(Donnelly’s) everything to (the team),” Cummings said. “(He) gives us a chance to drive guys in. He can hit a double, he can hit a single and steal two bases. … Being a run producer is very, very important.”

The Crawdads needed the extra runs after the usually sharp left-handed reliever Bradyn Barnes wasn’t up to his usual standard. Barnes showcased good stuff, getting three strikeouts in the ninth inning, but allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. His command just wasn’t quite there, but he settled down and secured the win, which was credited to fellow left-handed reliever Colin Nowaczyk.

Nowaczyk pitched the top of the eighth inning and was one of four relievers that Walnut Creek used in relief of right-handed starter Nathen Nino. Tuesday was Nino’s first start of the summer after previously being a bullpen arm who had only gone 2.1 innings pitched in his longest outing. Despite that, the University of the Pacific product shoved for five complete innings, allowing just one walk, one hit batter and no runs.

“The plan was to go four innings,” Cummings said. “Then, when he breezed through the fourth inning (pitching coach Dustin Cheyne) said, ‘Hey, you want to send him back out?’ … It’s just one of those feel things and in game management situations. … It’s good from a morale standpoint for him, because he’s had ups and downs, and today was mostly up, five scoreless.”

Nino’s ERA entering Tuesday was north of seven and he had more walks than innings thrown. The start was a needed, positive change for the rising senior. He produced and it didn’t look like a fluke, showcasing nasty offspeed pitches and a fastball that reached up to 94 MPH.

The right-hander delivered it all in a new, strange package. Nino added deception to his delivery by mixing and matching his leg kicks, going from a high leg kick to a smaller one at various points throughout the game.

“A couple of weeks ago, I kind of (stopped) the high leg kick and just went to a shorter stride,” Nino said. “I’ve been mixing the two. It’s been a lot easier to pound the zone with that.”

Nino was able to rack up three strikeouts with the zone-pounding delivery, but relied on his defense more often than not. Nino wasn’t pitching in front of the Crawdads’ usual infield. John Youens and Chris Esquivel were on the right side, which is standard, but on the left side, Leininger, the team’s starting third baseman, was over at shortstop and Brady Wilson was manning the hot corner.

Despite it being his first game at shortstop this summer, Leininger looked at home. He made many impressive plays, including one where he charged up the middle and in on a chopper, cutting off the more experienced middle infielder, Esquivel, to glove the ball and make a strong throw to first.

“I’m only here one time, maybe twice this summer,” Leininger said. “Might as well make the most of it.”

The good defensive play continued throughout the day and behind the bullpen. Despite giving up all four runs, the Crawdads’ bullpen did a great job, especially when compared to what they were up against.

The Crawdads’ bullpen allowed the team to stay in the game and win it, while everything went downhill for the Seagulls after Lewis got pulled. Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. You need a solid bullpen to get to the end.

“It’s winning baseball,” Cummings said. “We don’t have guys that go nine innings and throw shutouts. You have to be able to get to the next guy, to the next guy, to the next guy. … The bullpen’s huge.”

By Ethan Ignatovsky