Taylor Greene threw a one-hit shutout and Benicia High’s varsity baseball team took one step closer to a playoff berth after an 8-0 victory over visiting Fairfield on Wednesday.

Greene dominated the Falcons all day and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. The senior struck out 13 batters and had a no-hitter going until Fairfield’s Anthony Canavesio lined a single to left with two outs in the sixth inning.

Greene recorded seven of the game’s final nine outs by strikeout, including the final six. The other two outs were recorded when shortstop Caleb Van Blake and second baseman Jack Bowles turned a double play to end the fifth inning. Benicia didn’t make a single error all day.

Jason Toumbs sparked a Benicia offense that slowly wore down Fairfield starting pitcher Justin Nehring. Toumbs singled home Van Blake for the game’s first run in the bottom of the first and then started a third-inning rally by reaching safely on an error. Toumbs eventually scored on a Isiah Saguar double, and Saguar made it 3-0 when he stole third and the throw from Fairfield’s catcher sailed into left field.

Toumbs got another rally started in the fifth with a leadoff double, eventually scoring on a Saguar ground out to make it 4-0. A double by Alex Osterholt in the sixth inning and singles by Bowles, Riley Pitkin and Armani Dickerson broke things open. Toumbs added an RBI double and went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs on the day.

The Panthers, 14-10 overall and in third place in the Solano County Athletic Conference at 7-5, control their own playoff destiny with three games remaining in the regular season. Benicia can clinch a playoff spot with a victory Friday at Fairfield and a Bethel loss to American Canyon. Benicia won the season series with Bethel (6-6 SCAC) and owns a tiebreaker over the Jaguars.

Vanden (10-2 SCAC) eliminated Benicia’s chances of earning the SCAC’s No. 1 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs with a 10-3 victory over Vallejo on Wednesday. The Panthers can still finish in second place but would need to sweep American Canyon next week.

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