EVAN PHILLIPS threw a four-hit shutout at American Canyon to lead the Benicia High varsity baseball team into the playoffs.

Evan Phillips pitched a four-hit shutout and Benicia High’s varsity baseball team clinched a postseason berth with a 2-0 victory over host American Canyon on Monday.

The Panthers (16-10, 9-5 Solano County Athletic Conference) can finish no worse than third place and could still take second place with a win over American Canyon on Friday in Benicia. Knowing Monday’s win clinched a shot at repeating as Sac-Joaquin Section champions went a long way toward helping the team’s psyche.

“We had to win one and we’ve done that, so it’s a relief knowing we’re not playing for our playoff life on Wednesday,” said Benicia manager Jim Bowles.

“It feels good knowing we’re in the playoffs,” said junior Alex Osterholt, whose first career varsity home run gave Benicia some insurance in the sixth inning. “We were under some pressure but we knew we could get the job done.”

If Phillips was feeling any pressure, he sure didn’t show it. The junior struck out three of the first four batters he faced and allowed only one hit between the third and fifth innings. Phillips went on to strike out nine and improved to 4-3 on the season.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning but then I started throwing strikes and went from there,” Phillips said. “I just kept using the same pitch sequence and got into a good rhythm.”

“This is historically a tough park for us and for him to throw a shutout is phenomenal,” Bowles said. “He was ahead in the count all day long and he had his breaking ball working really well.”

American Canyon (12-11, 9-5 SCAC) posed its share of threats. The Wolves had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the second inning, but Jeffrey Harais lined back to Phillips, who threw to first baseman Jason Toumbs for an inning-ending double play. Andre Jose led off the bottom of the sixth with a double, but an out later, Benicia centerfielder Isiah Saguar made a great running catch and doubled Jose off second to end that threat.

“I guess he thought it was going to get down,” Bowles said of Jose. “We played great defense and it was a good team win.”

Benicia used a pair of two-out rallies to score its two runs. Caleb Van Blake reached safely on a two-out error in the third inning and scored thanks to a single by Saguar and a double by Toumbs. Osterholt lined a two-out pitch over the fence in left to make it 2-0 in the sixth.

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