Woody walks it off: Ninth inning heroics confirms 11-game win streak for Walnut Creek

"Let's go win this thing," sophomore right-handed pitcher Myles Brand said immediately after entering the dugout, receiving high fives from teammates. Brand kept the game tied heading into the bottom of the ninth. 

Scuffling ensued during the ninth, multiple guys corralled towards the far-left edge of the dugout towards the on-deck circle. After two quick outs, the dugout looked like a war zone. Certain guys grabbed their gloves in case of a 10th inning, others continued to spit seeds or eat fruit, but one man moved from the on-deck circle into the batter's box for a last-second chance. 

Redshirt freshman TJ Woodson was cool as a cucumber. Finding his normal focal point on the bat, he stepped into the box. . The man on pace to break the Crawdads' record for doubles in a season had yet to hit a home run in 2026. Now, in the biggest spot, he had the chance to hit his first. 

On a full count, Woodson got his pitch and roped it into the windy sky towards left field. The ball kept creeping more and more foul, but as it finally settled, it was fair as Woodson was swarmed at home by a Walnut Creek dugout that sprang to their feet in celebration as certain expletives were said at what unfolded on the diamond-shaped canvas. 

The Crawdads defeated San Francisco 4-3 at Monte Vista High School on Saturday. The win marked the Crawdads' second straight week swept, extending the win streak to 11 games. 

"In the moment, I was like, 'stay fair,'" Woodson said. "I did not know if it was fair. The umpire said it was, so I just ran. I got a guy with more velocity on the mound, so I didn't have to do too much … It is  nice to finally get one out of the yard, "

Brand, who finished the game in the ninth, continued to have an electrifying summer. Brand threw the second-most innings of the day for the Crawdads with two innings pitched. He gave up two hits, one a hit-by-pitch and no runs while throwing 19 pitches. 

Woodson was one of two players to garner an RBI and the only Walnut Creek player to register two hits in the win on Sunday night. Woodson has 10 doubles in CCL play and 12 doubles overall.  

While Woodson's heroics made the biggest waves, Walnut Creek's offense emphasized the team's general identity of offensive versatility, a quality that manager Brant Cummings has mentioned many times during the win streak.

The walkoff might have come on a longball, but the previous three came without a hit, leading to an RBI.

As the Crawdads entered the fifth inning down 2-0, pressure started to build to put runs on the board. With the bases loaded and one out, redshirt freshman outfielder Bryden Bull was credited with an RBI after a wild pitch sailed over his head, moving the other two runners up as well. 

After Bull hit a sac fly to center that brought in a run, an error on the throw led to a second run scoring as well.

The fifth and ninth innings showed that Walnut Creek can score in multiple ways. Woodson is happy to be a part of an offense with that identity.

"We got a bunch of good bats in the lineup, we're able to do damage throughout," Woodson said. "We can put up a big inning at any time. It's pretty nice. We know we don't have to do too much in every inning."

On the mound, the Crawdad bullpen continued their impressive work, holding the Seagulls to just one unearned run after starting pitcher sophomore Hudson Aber stepped off the mound.

First out of the pen was sophomore Austin Billelo, taking care of the fourth inning by allowing just one hit and striking out two.

Senior Alex Gomez and sophomore Carlos Hernandez followed Billelo, pitching from the fifth to the seventh.

Combining to allow just three baserunners and strike out five, the duo set up Brand to take care of his business with ease.

With the bullpen throwing an impressive 2.22 ERA during the week of games, Gomez explained the mindset in the Walnut Creek bullpen

"Just go out there, have fun, and compete," Gomez said. "It's summer ball, so having fun's a big part of it; we have fun in the bullpen."

Now on an 11-game streak, shattering the previous record of seven, the Crawdads have swept two weeks in a row.

With June nearly in the rear view, Walnut Creek has just three games before the All-Star Break. 

Kicking off the new week with a matchup at Sonoma on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., Brand explained how important the final three games heading into the break will be. 

"It would finish us off strong for the month, give us a good rhythm into the next couple of games in July," Brand said. "Just keep the streak going, just keep winning, and come out of the all-star break ready to continue the streak."