Author: CCL - Page 19 - California Collegiate League (CCL)

July 28, 2018
Thousand Oaks, CA

The Orange County Riptide and the Conejo Oaks will meet tomorrow in the 2018 California Collegiate League Championship Game after each team won a first-round playoff game today at Sparky Anderson Field. The Riptide scored nine runs in their last at bat and beat the Healdsburg Prune Packers 11-9 in the first of two playoff games today, and Conejo scored three runs in their first at bat and held on to beat the No. 1 seeded Santa Barbara Foresters 3-2 in the second game.

Trailing 9-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Orange County put together a remarkable rally that was capped by a two-out, two-run single by Micah Pries (Pt. Loma) that gave the Riptide the lead they would never forget. The remarkable part of the rally, really, was how they tied the game: ninety feet at a time, literally. Orange County sent ten batters to the plate before an out was recorded. All ten batters reached first base either by one of the eight singles or two walks collected and, once they were on first base, they each, in turn, moved to second base with the next single or walk, then to third base and then to home, never trying to take an extra base or score from second on a hit to the outfield. They did this station-to-station thing for ten straight batters as Healdsburg utilized four pitchers to stop the parade around the bases, but it never stopped until the score was tied. Chrit Rudkin (Montevallo), the fourth Healdsburg pitcher of the eighth inning snagged another sure hit headed for centerfield after the tying run scored, threw home to start a 1-2-3 double-play that seemed sure to end the rally, but the next pitch he threw after the double-play was a fastball that Pries lined into right field that scored the Riptide’s two go-ahead runs. Ryan Sublette (Texas Tech), the fifth pitcher utilized in the game by Orange County, pitched around a one-out walk and single to hold Healdsburg scoreless in the ninth inning and close out the win for the Riptide. Cassius Hamm (Northridge) was the starting pitcher for the Riptide today, throwing four scoreless innings while striking out five before allowing a run in the fifth inning when Wendell Champion II (Houston) hit a two-out solo home run to put Healdsburg up 1-0. Healdsburg’s starting pitcher, Chase Gardner (UConn), was never scored upon. Gardner pitched four innings, facing one batter over the minimum twelve as both of the runners who reached via a hit were erased on the bases, one on a steal attempt and the other in the front end of a double-play. The Riptide tied the score in their half of the fifth inning when Chase Sebby (Ball State) reached on a two-base error and scored on another error, Healdsburg added two runs in the sixth when Sam Wezniak (Cal) hit an RBI-single and a wild pitch plated another, and Orange County made the score 3-2 when Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) hit a double in the bottom of the sixth and score on Austin Sojka’s (OK Wesleyan) second double of the game. Healdsburg then rallied for five runs in the seventh inning, scoring on a bases loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, a wild pitch, an error and an RBI-double by Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) that gave the Packers what seemed to be a comfortable 9-2 lead. But then the Riptide’s eighth inning rally happened.

Click here for the boxscore of this game

Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) and Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) each doubled in the first inning, driving in three runs, Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) struck out seven over six innings, and Jackson Simonsgaard (Roger St) struck out five in two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 3-2 win over the Santa Barbara Foresters in the second playoff game today. Cockrell and Alexander’s doubles were the biggest of the six hits the Oaks collected against Santa Barbara’s starting pitcher Caleb Sloan (TCU) and, after Tanner Bibee (Cal St. Fullerton) relieved Sloan to get the last out of the second inning, they would be the biggest hits of the game as the Oaks would not threaten to score the again, collecting only two more hits as Bibee and Hunter Breault (Oregon) completely shutdown the Conejo offense. Bibee pitched four and one third innings scoreless, allowing only a Cockrell single to lead off the sixth inning and striking out two, while Breault retired nine of the ten batters he faced, five via strikeouts and allowed only a two-out triple in the seventh inning to Michael Spears (Ole Miss). The Oaks pitching, however, was up to the challenge. Francis started on the mound for Conejo and threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts before Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma St) singled to lead off the fourth inning and scored on a Utah Jones (North Greenville) RBI-single, and Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) hit a two-out solo home run in the fifth to make the score 3-2. Francis got out of the fifth inning without further damage and retired the side in order in the sixth, adding another strikeout, before turning the pitching duties over to Simonsgaard. Simonsgaard was stellar today, retiring the side in order in the sixth, seventh and eight innings, and striking out the first batter he faced in the ninth before allowing his first baserunner when he hit Conner Woods (UNLV) with a pitch. Simonsgaard retired the next batter on a line-out and had a chance to close out the win but Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) hit a single that advanced Woods, with the tying run, to third base and Angus Denton (Arkansas) relieved Simonsgaard and struck out the only batter he faced to close out the win.

Click here for the boxscore of this game

The Riptide and Oaks will meet in the single, winner-takes-all CCL Championship Game tomorrow at noon at Sparky Anderson Field.

Click here for more details and how to watch the game live on YouTube

Jul 28, 2018
Last updated: 7/28/2018 9:00PM

The Conejo Oaks and Orange County Riptide will meet to determine the 2018 CCL Championship Sunday at Sparky Anderson Field on the campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. Game time is noon.

Conejo advanced to the championship game by beating the Santa Barbara Foresters 3-2 Saturday, while Orange County advanced by beating the Healdsburg Prune Packers 11-9. The game tomorrow is a winner-takes-all single game that will determine the 2018 CCL Champions.

The CCL Championship Game will be streamed live on YouTube. Announcers Jonathan Rifkind and Jordan Brenner will provide the play-by-play. Text comments or questions during the broadcast to 805.630.6428.

Click on the following links to watch the CCL Championship Game live

Championship Game – 11:45am Sunday
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Watch the CCL Championship Game on YouTube

July 27, 2018
Thousand Oaks, CA

Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) hit a two-run home run and a two-run double, Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) hit a pair of doubles and scored twice, and Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) had three hits, three runs scored and drove in two runs to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 9-6 must win over the Healdsburg Prune Packers today at Sparky Anderson Field. Cockrell’s home run came in the third inning and followed McFarland’s second RBI-single of the game to put the Oaks up 4-0. But it was his double in the sixth that was the bigger of the two hits. Healdsburg had taken the lead in the game in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on seven hits, including a bases-clearing three-run double by Sam Wezniak (Cal), a two-out RBI-single by Cade Peters (UC Riverside) and a two-out RBI-double by Ben Sanderson (UC Santa Barbara), and that score held until the Oaks scored once in the fifth inning to tie the game 5-5 when McFarland hit a leadoff double and scored when the Packers turned a double-play. Nick Rincover (Pierce College), who had entered the game to pitch for the Oaks to get the final out of the fourth inning in relief of starter Justin Friedman, retired the side in order in the fifth but a leadoff walk, an error and a single loaded the bases for Healdsburg with no outs in the sixth and Rincover surrendered the lead after striking out one batter when an infield groundout put the Packers up 6-5. That Healdsburg lead wouldn’t last long, however, as the Oaks took the lead for good in their next at bat, scoring four two-out runs after Will Picketts (CSU Bakersfield) got aboard with a one-out single. Lewis, who had doubled in the first inning and scored the Oaks first run on McFarland’s first RBI-single, doubled again to drive in Pickets with the tying run, Cockrell drove in two with his double to put the Oaks ahead and Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) hit the third two-out double of the inning to drive in Cockrell and put the Oaks up 9-5. After limiting the bases-loaded and no outs damage to one run, Rincover struck out the first batter in the seventh and then turned the pitching duties over to John Vergara, who struck out the first two batters he faced to end the seventh, retired the side in order with one strikeout in the eighth, and pitched around a two-out single in the ninth with another strikeout to close out the win. The Packers, who had already clinched a berth in the CCL Playoff set to start tomorrow here in Thousand Oaks, utilized six pitchers in today’s game, presumably fine-tuning their staff for a playoff run which begins at noon tomorrow when Healdsburg faces the Orange County Riptide. The Oaks, however, needed to win today’s game to edge the San Luis Obispo Blues for the fourth and final spot in the playoffs. Conejo will meet the Santa Barbara Foresters, the No. 1 seeded team in the playoffs, in the 4pm game tomorrow.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Fullerton, CA

Austin Sojka (OK Wesleyan) hit a two-out, walk-off, solo home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning to give the Orange County Riptide a 6-5 victory over the Academy Barons today at Fullerton College. Sojka’s walk-off home run was the second such feat for the Riptide in as many nights as Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) did likewise last night versus the Healdsburg Packers, hitting his walk-off solo home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Sojka’s home run today was his fourth hit of the game. His single to lead off the fourth inning sparked a four-run rally, highlighted by an RBI-triple by Aaron Simpson (Ball State) and a two-out two-run double by Bradley Jekich (Pacific) that put Orange County up 5-2. That lead would not last long, however, as the Academy scored three times in their next at bat, scoring on a two-run single by Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) and an RBI-double by Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky). Anthony Nettles (Clark), who started on the mound and struck out four for the Barons, pitched out of a bases-loaded and one out situation in the fifth inning to keep the score tied, and then the bullpens for both teams took over. Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills) pitched five scoreless innings in relief of Nettles, striking out eight batters, to hold the Riptide in check until the eleventh inning. Dylan Diaz (Concordia) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Riptide starter Colin Townsend (St. Louis), who allowed all five Barons runs on eleven hits while striking out six, Tyler Frazier (Oregon) pitched three hitless innings in relief of Diaz, facing the minimum nine batters by striking out six and picking off from first base the only runner he allowed to reach via a walk, and Robby Evans (St. Edwards) pitched around an error in the top of the eleventh inning that put the leadoff batter aboard and a stolen base that put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position by retiring the next three batters in order, two via strikeouts, to setup Sojka’s walk-off. Ryan Zapata (MS JC), who entered the game in relief of Hereford to start the eleventh, gave up a single to Micah Pries (Pt. Loma) to leadoff the inning, got a groundball double-play to erase the initial threat, but Sojka was the third batter he faced. Orange County scored their first run in the first inning when Jekich hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on a McWhorter RBI-single, and the Barons scored their first two runs on four singles, three of them with two outs in the second inning, when Joseph Argumedo (Lynn) hit a two-run single with the bases loaded. Today was the final regular season game for the two teams. Orange County, however, will play tomorrow in the first game of the CCL Playoffs at Sparky Anderson Field in Thousand Oaks. The Riptide, the No. 2 seeded team in the playoffs and the defending CCL Champion from 2017, will meet the No. 3 seeded Healdsburg Prune Packers in the noon game tomorrow. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Santa Barbara Foresters vs. Conejo Oaks matchup at 4pm tomorrow, in the winner-takes-all championship game Sunday at noon.

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July 26, 2018
Fullerton, CA

Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) hit a walk-off solo home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning as the Orange County Riptide beat the Healdsburg Prune Packers 6-5 today at Fullerton College. McWhorter had struck out in all four of his prior at bats in the game and, to add even more drama to his walk-off shot, the Packers had scored four times in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Brian Arias (San Antonio) and a three-run homer by Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) to take a 5-3 lead, only to have the Riptide tie the score in their half of the eighth when, with two outs and the bases empty, an error and two walks loaded the bases for Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), who drove in the tying runs with his game-high third hit of the game. Hayden Pearce (Pacific) started on the mound for Orange County and scattered eight hits to allow only one run while striking out eight in seven innings. The run Pearce allowed came in the first inning when Healdsburg took the early lead when a pair of one-out singles by Ben Sanderson (UC Santa Barbara) and Arias put runners on first and third and Jake MacNichols (Santa Clara) hit a sacrifice fly. From that point on Pearce retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and pitched around a pair of singles in each of his last three innings to not be scored upon again. Healdsburg, which like Orange County, has already clinched a berth in the CCL Playoffs, utilized seven pitchers in today’s game, presumably fine-tuning their pitching staff for a playoff run. Eric Parnow, who started and was the only Healdsburg pitcher to throw more than one inning, Nick Candelari (Texas Tech) and Griffin Hattingh (Houston) held the Riptide scoreless through four innings, but Orange County took their first lead in the game in the fifth inning when Josh Nicoloff (Columbia) singled with one and scored when Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) hit a two-run home run to put the Riptide up 2-1. Orange County added to their lead in the sixth inning when Aaron Simpson (Ball State) singled, advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch and scored on a Chase Sebby (Ball State) RBI-single to make the score 3-1. Brandon Ivey (Texas), who pitched the ninth inning for the Riptide afer Jack Noble (Oregon) and Jacob Parker (Georgia Southern) each allowed two runs in the eighth, pitched around a leadoff single to hold Healdsburg scoreless and setup McWhorter’s game-winner. Orange County’s win today assured that they will meet Healdsburg in the first game of the CCL Playoffs at noon on Saturday at Sparky Anderson Field on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The determination of which team will be the No. 2 seed and thus have home team honors will be determined by the outcome of Healdsburg’s game against the Conejo Oaks tomorrow. If Healdsburg wins they will have a better final winning percentage than Orange County and thus have the home team advantage. If Healdsburg losses to Conejo, Orange County will have the advantage.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Pasadena, CA

Dalton Ney (Lee) and Gabe Chavez (San Bernardino) doubled and scored, and Tristan Peterson and Jacob Jenkins (MidAm Nazarene) hit RBI-singles to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 3-2 win over the Academy Barons tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Ney’s leadoff double in the second inning was immediately cashed in by Peterson’s RBI-single to get the Saints even with the Barons after the Academy scored once in their first at bat when Desmond Gates (West LA JC) led off the game with a single, advanced on a Daniel Harris (Eastern Kentucky) single and scored on a sacrifice fly. Peterson then scored and put the Saints up 2-1 one out later in the second inning when Jenkins hit his RBI-single. Colin King (Regis) who started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, retired seven of the next eight batters he faced after allowing the run in the first before turning the pitching duties over to Wyatt Kelley (New Mexico St) to start the fourth inning. Kelly surrendered only one hit and struck out two over the next four innings, allowing one unearned run in the fifth inning when Bruce Martin (Stetson) walked to lead off the inning, stole second base and scored on a pair of Saints errors. JD Russomano (Corban) and Joey Steele (USF) pitched a hitless, scoreless eighth and ninth inning, respectively, to close out the win. Andy Rosales (El Camino) was the starting pitcher for the Academy, allowing eight hits while striking out three in five and a third innings and surrendered all three Saints runs, the last in the fifth inning when Chavez led off the inning with a double, was advanced to third on a groundball to the right side and score what proved to be the winning run on a Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) sacrifice fly. Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky), a late two-way threat for the Barons, pitched the last two and two-thirds innings scoreless for the Barons, notching four strikeouts.

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July 25, 2018
La Mirada, CA

Cade Smith (Hawaii) struck out five in five innings of one-run ball, Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) had a game-high three hits and David Martinez (Austin Peay) hit a pair of doubles and scored three times to lead the Southern California Catch to a 7-2 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Biola University. Smith retired ten of the first twelve batters he faced and 15 of 20 overall in his five inning stint. He allowed only three hits, a single by Mitch Kerner in the second inning, a single by Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) in the third and a two-out double by Briggs in the fifth that drove in a runner who had reached base after being hit by a pitch for the only run Smith allowed. Smith left the game leading 4-1 after the Catch scored a run in the second inning without the benefit of a hit, and a wild pitch and a Skyler De Los Reyes (UC Riverside) two-run single in the fifth plated three. After a walk and Martinez’ first double put two runners aboard with one out in the sixth inning, Jung plated two more Catch runs with his third single of the game to make the score 6-1, and, in the eighth, Martinez led off the inning with his second double and scored his third run of the game when Kristian Franklin (Grambling St) hit an RBI-double. Taed Heydinger, Deylen Miley (Tiffin), Tayt Smith (ASU) and Anthony Mayorga each pitched one inning in relief of Smith, Heydinger and Miley retiring the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, and Smith struck out two in the eighth but allowed three hits, including a Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) RBI-single that drove in the Saints second run. Mayorga pitched around a two-out single in a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win for the Catch. Charles Peacock (Galveston JC) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, striking out four in four and two-thirds innings and allowing four runs on four hits to suffer the loss.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Comtpon, CA

Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma St) had three hits, including a pair of RBI-triples and Conor Davis (Auburn) hit an RBI-triple and an RBI-double to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 13-4 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Neustifter’s first triple came with two outs in the first inning, driving in Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St), who reached base in all six of his plate appearances tonight, with the opening run of the game, and, eight innings later, Neustifter hit another triple, driving in two runners who had reached via walks, and then he scored the game’s last run on an RBI-groundout. After the Barons tied the score in their half of the first inning on a two-out RBI-single by Joseph Argumedo (Lynn), who matched Neustifter with a game-high three hits, the Foresters scored three times in the second on Davis’ RBI-double, a run-scoring single by Logan Allen (AR-Ft. Smith) and a Cash fielder’s choice. Davis delivered again in the third inning, hitting a run-scoring triple, and then scored on an Allen groundout for Allen’s second RBI of the game. Both teams traded runs in the fourth inning to make the score 8-2, the Foresters scoring on an RBI-single by Utah Jones (North Greenville) and the Barons scoring on a Argumedo solo home run. The Academy added two runs in the sixth inning on a fielder’s choice and an RBI-double by Adam Cendejas, and Santa Barbara scored single runs in the seventh, when Allen led off with a triple and Cash drove him in with a single, and in the eighth, when Jones led off with a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Four Santa Barbara pitchers combined to strike out nine in tonight’s game. Kamron Fields (Texas) started the game and struck out three in four innings, Elliot Anderson (Auburn) pitched two innings with a pair of strikeouts, Dane Acker (Rice) retired six of the seven batters he faced, striking out four, and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) retired the side on order on six pitches in the ninth inning to close out the win. Nikelle Galatas (Jackson St) started on the mound for the Academy, striking out three in three-plus innings and allowed eight runs on ten hits to suffer the loss. Luke Ritter (Wichita St) hit the fourth of five Foresters triples in the game in the seventh inning.

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July 24, 2018
Compton, CA

Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) hit a double, two singles and scored two runs, Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) hit ad a bases-loaded two-run single, and Joshua Stephens (Beaufort) and Ryan Zapata (MS JC) withstood a furious ninth-inning rally to lead the Academy Barons to a 5-4 win over the Santa Barbara Foresters today at the MLB Youth Academy. Lucio, whose three hits were a game-high, was a key player in two rallies that produced all five of the Barons runs. His single in the fourth inning was the first of three consecutive singles the Barons strung together, the last being Wilson’s two-RBI hit, to take the lead in the game after the Foresters scored one run in the first inning when Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) hit a two-out RBI single. Then, after Santa Barbara tied the score in the top of the sixth inning on a pair of Barons errors, Lucio doubled in the bottom of the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on an error. One out later in the sixth inning, Desmond Gates (West LA JC) extended the Academy lead with a two-out RBI-single and another error plated a third run to put the Barons up 5-2. Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb), the starting pitcher for the Barons who, after surrendering the first inning run, retired the next 13 batters in order, pitched a scoreless seventh inning before turning the pitching duties over to Stephens. Stephens pitched around a two-out single and walk to log a scoreless eighth inning, and retired the first batter of the ninth inning before things started to get sketchy. The Foresters strung together three consecutive singles by Utah Jones (North Greenville), Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) and Brandon Zaragoza (Oklahoma) to score one run, a wild pitch allowed a second run and a hit batsmen and a walk put the tying and go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs. That is when Zapata entered the game to relieve Stephens and Zapata retired the first batter he faced to strand three runners and save the Barons win. Michael Hobbs (St. Mary’s) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and threw three scoreless innings, striking out two, before being relieved by James Notary (TCU), who allowed four runs on four hits while striking out three in two-plus innings to suffer the loss.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Pasadena, CA

Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) had three hits, two RBI and scored twice in the first three innings, Angelo Armenta (San Diego St) singled, doubled and drove in two runs and the Arroyo Seco Saints scored ten unanswered runs in their first four at bats to beat the Southern California Catch 10-5 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Briggs, the Saints leadoff hitter, singled, advanced to third on a Colin Shepard (Miami-Ohio) doubled and scored on an RBI-single by Nic Lacayo (Michigan St) in the first inning, singled in a run in the second, and hit an RBI-double in the third as part of the Saints’ five-run rally that made the score 9-0. Armenta, who hit one of the two sacrifice flies in the first inning along with Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) that gave Arroyo Seco a 3-0 lead, and who, again along with Williams, had an RBI-single in the third, doubled and scored in the fourth to make the score 10-0. Reed Osborn (Howard JC), the starting pitcher for Arroyo Seco tonight, threw four scoreless before allowing the Catch to score when Deylen Miley (Tiffin) doubled to lead off the fifth inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundball out. Timothy Post (Columbia) relieved Osborn to start the sixth inning and allowed one run on a Jacob Nemeth (Azusa Pacific) RBI-single in two innings while striking out three. JD Russomano (Corban) pitched the eighth inning for Arroyo Seco and allowed the third Catch run when Jake Boone (Princeton), who matched Briggs with a game-high three hits, singled to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a Wacy Crenshaw double and scored on Nemeth’s second RBI-single. Boone then drove in a run in the ninth inning and Grant Robbins (UNLV) added an RBI-fielder’s choice to post the final 10-5 score. Six pitchers appeared in tonight’s game for the Catch, highlighted by Brenden Argomaniz (Orange Coast JC) throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

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July 23, 2018
Healdsburg, CA

Jake MacNichols (Santa Clara) hit a three-run home run and an RBI-triple, and Kevin Sandri (Pacific) had a game-high three hits and three runs scored to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 6-4 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues today at Recreation Park, a win that clinched Healdsburg a berth in the CCL Playoffs set to start Saturday in Thousand Oaks. MacNichols’ home run came with one out in the fifth inning and drove in Sandri, who had singled to lead off the inning, and Ben Sanderson (UC Santa Barbara), who had walked. The three-run shot put the Packers up 5-3 and flipped the lead for the third and last time in the game. Healdsburg had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their first at bat when Sandri and Sanderson hit leadoff singles and Sandri later scored on a sacrifice fly. Justin Lutes (Pepperdine) then hit a three-run home run to put the Blues up 3-1 in the second inning, driving in Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) and Jack Kuzma (Cal Poly) both who had singled, and Sandri tripled and scored on MacNichols’ triple in the third to get the Packers within one. Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) started on the mound for San Luis, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out four in four and one-third innings to suffer the loss. Cole Tucker, who relieved Scalzo after MacNichol’s home run, allowed one unearned run in the fifth after issuing a two-out walk, an error allowed the runner to advance to third and a Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) RBI-single made the score 6-3. Tucker then retired ten of the next eleven batters he faced, striking out four in his three-plus innings, to finish the game for the Blues. Henrik Reinertsen (Pacific) was the starting pitcher for Healdsburg, allowing the three early Blues runs on four hits in two and a third innings before being relieved by Shamus Lyons who got the last two outs of the third inning, pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth innings and was charged with a run allowed when Auston Chastain (Fresno St) hit a one-out triple in the sixth and scored on a Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) RBI-single after Jared Noonan (UC Riverside) relieved Lyons. Noonan and Eric Parnow pitched around two leadoff singles by Lipcius and Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) and a walk in the seventh inning, getting a big double-play when Lipcius was thrown out trying to tag and advance to third on a flyball out and Parnow picking a runner off first base to maintain the Packers lead. Chrit Rudkin (Montevallo) then retired the Blues in order in the eighth inning and pitched around a one-out single by Brian Klein (Texas Tech) in the ninth to close out the win. The win assures Healdsburg a spot in the CCL Playoffs Saturday. The Blues, who have concluded their regular season play, will need Healdsburg to beat the Conejo Oaks on Friday to make it to the playoffs.

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July 22, 2018
Compton, CA

Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) scored what would prove to be the winning running by reaching base to lead off the top of the ninth inning and scoring from first base on a three-base error, and Jake Ortega (Bakersfield) picked off the potential tying run off third base to end the game as the Orange County Riptide beat the Academy Barons 4-3 today at the MLB Youth Academy. Leading 3-0 after Curry doubled and Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) tripled him home in the seventh inning and scoring twice in the eighth inning on an error and a wild pitch, the Riptide scored their winning run in the ninth after Curry was hit by a pitch to put Orange County up 4-0. They would need every one of those runs as the Barons rallied for three runs in their half of the ninth inning when an error and two walks loaded the bases with one and Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) hit a two-run double and Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) hit a sacrifice fly to plate one runner and advance Shanks, representing the tying run, to third base. Jacob Parker (Georgia Southern), who entered the game after Shanks’ double in relief of Jack Noble (Oregon) and surrendered the sacrifice fly, threw one more pitch and that is when Ortega, the Riptdie catcher, picked Shanks off third base to end the game. Issac Guerrero (Faulkner) started on the mound for the Riptide, striking out six in four shutout innings before being relieved by Brandon Ivey (Texas) and Noble who each threw two shutout innings each before Noble ran into trouble in the ninth. Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills), the starter for the Academy, threw six shutout innings while striking out six before being relieved by Andy Rosales (El Camino), who allowed three runs on two hits in one and two-thirds innings, and Alonzo Billips (Santa Clara), who recorded the last four outs without allowing a hit but was on the mound when Curry scored in the ninth.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Santa Barbara, CA

Brett Standlee (Oklahoma State) and Hunter Breault (Oregon) outdueled Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) and Jackson Simonsgaard (Roger St), and Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) drove in the only run of the game with a two-out RBI-single to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 1-0 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Pershing Park. Standlee, who started for Santa Barbara, was good today but Breault was perfect. Standlee surrendered three hits and three walks, facing runners on base in each of his four-plus innings, managing to pitch out of every situation until his second walk allowed in the fifth inning prompted the Foresters to bring in Breault. Breault retired all 13 batters he faced, striking out five and extending his scoreless inning streak the season to 21 innings. Francis, who started for Conejo, was almost as dominant as his counterparts, allowing only five baserunners over seven innings, two via hits and three via walks. One of those walks, to Turner Gauntt (Texas) to lead off the third inning, came back to bite Francis when, after a sacrifice advanced Gauntt to second and a groundball out advanced him to third, Cash hit his single with what proved to be the winning run. The only other hit Francis allowed was a bunt single by Logan Allen (AR-Ft. Smith) to lead off the seventh inning. Simonsgaard pitched around a lead off single by Gauntt in the eighth inning to keep the score 1-0.

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Healdsburg, CA

Jordan Chriss (Columbia) struck out eight and allowed only one run in seven innings, Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) hit a three-run home run and scored three times, and Brian Klein (Texas Tech) had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 10-3 win over the Healdsburg Prune Packers tonight at Recreation Park. The run Chriss allowed came in the first inning when leadoff hitter Kevin Sandri (Pacific) doubled and scored one out later when Brian Arias (San Antonio), who would finish with a game-high three hits along with Klein, hit an RBI-single to give Healdsburg the early lead. From that point on, however, Chriss was dealing. After Arias’ hit in the first inning Chriss retired the next eight batters he faced, 13 of the next 14, and 20 of his last 23. The only blip Chriss faced the rest of the way was a two out single surrendered to Sam Wezniak (Cal) in the fifth inning followed by a walk to Sandri. Chriss retired the last out of the inning on a groundball and then retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings before handing the pitching duties over to Mario Lopez. By this time the Blues had scored seven times: twice in the third inning on RBI-singles by Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) and Klein, once in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk, and four times in the fifth without collecting a hit, scoring via two errors, two walks, a hit batsmen, a bases-loaded balk and a fielder’s choice. Lipcius added the capper in the ninth inning, hitting his home run after Klein and Jason Lutes (Pepperdine) singed in front of him with one out. The Packers added two runs in the eighth inning when Sandri doubled for the second time and scored on a Kurt Wilson (Texas Tech) double, and Arias drove in Wilson with a single for his second RBI of the game. Lopez retired the last two batters in the eighth inning to escape further damage and then pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win. Griffin Hattingh (Houston) started on the mound for Healdsburg and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out two in three and two-thirds innings. Jackson Cunningham (Northridge) retired the first eight batters he faced, three via strikeouts, in relief of Ed O’Bannon, who pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed four runs (one earned). Sam Reinertsen (Davidson College) pitched a scoreless eighth inning in relief of Cunningham but gave up the three Blues runs in the ninth.

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