GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The Gridley Bulldogs continued their winning ways as they beat the Marysville Indians 7-2 in a non-league matchup of section finalists from last season.

Gridley was the runner up in the Northern Section Division III while Marysville was the runner up in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV.

Indians head coach Bill Rollins expressed to Messenger Publishing Group in a previous interview he wanted his team to put the ball in play more as they weren’t making much contact with the ball in their previous few games.

“We had good approaches with two strikes and were able to get the ball in play,” Rollins said.

Marysville (1-4) did put the ball in play and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning off the bat of senior infielder/pitcher Jack Howsley who drove in two runs off a single. Howsley went one-for-three in the game.

The Indians had three of their four hits in the game in the first inning off Gridley (2-0) sophomore pitcher Garrett Francis. Francis settled into the groove after that first inning and dealt the next four innings of shutout ball.

“My stuff felt good today and I had a great defense behind me,” Francis exclaimed to MPG.

“He (Francis) was able to keep our hitters off-balance,” Rollins told MPG.

The Bulldogs went down in order in the first against Marysville senior pitcher Maddox Marino but woke up in the second inning as they played four to take a 4-2 lead at the end of the second.

The Indians committed two of their three errors in the second inning that contributed to Gridley taking the lead.

Once the Bulldogs took the lead, they closed the door on any opportunities for Marysville as hard hit balls looked routine for the Gridley defense.

Indians senior first baseman Dairius Jacobs led Marysville at the plate as he went two-for-two with two singles.

Bulldogs head coach Javier Solis expressed to MPG that the leadership on his roster was a big part of the win over the Indians. He explained as everyone was previously practicing in gyms as to fight against the rainy weather, it helped his team focus and they made the least mistakes on the field against the Indians.

“We were able to capitalize off of their mistakes today,” Solis said.

Gridley freshman outfielder Tanner Abbott and senior outfielder Aiden Gomez had a pair of hits apiece along with their coverage in left and center field, which included a warning track shot that Howsley hit in the fourth inning.

Solis told MPG that the trust factor between the entire Bulldogs’ roster is strong and it showed as they beat a competitive Indians team.

Solis said he is texting out different lineups for the next couple weeks before Gridley begins Butte View League play and all the boys’ know they are fighting for their spot on the field.

Both teams played the day prior to their matchup as Gridley beat Pierce 21-0 and Marysville dropped their Pioneer Valley League opener to Bear River 4-3

The Indians beat Bear River on Saturday to end the week on a winning note.

The Bulldogs had three games scheduled this week to close out their preseason before getting into BVL play next week.

Marysville continued PVL play as they were scheduled to play Sutter, who transitioned to the SJS from the NS on Tuesday and Thursday.