CCL - California Collegiate League (CCL)

July 30, 2017

Compton, CA
The Orange County Riptide defeated the Healdsburg Prune Packers in the winner-take-all final game of the California Collegiate League Playoffs today at the MLB Youth Academy to claim their first CCL championship. The Riptide entered the final day of the double-elimination playoffs as the undefeated team and, thus, had the advantage of needing to win only one of two possible games against the Packers, whom they defeated yesterday 7-1, while Healdsburg would need to win both games today. And, after Healdsburg won the first game today 4-3, the second game became a true winner-take-all championship game that the Riptide won 5-3.

Jordan Dosey (Virginia) pitched five scoreless innings, Beau Phillip (San Joaquin JC) had three hits and scored the first two Orange County runs, and RBI-doubles by Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) and Jake Pulcheon (Houston Baptist) led the Riptide to the championship. Given a one-run lead after Phillip singled and scored from first on Fletcher’s double in the top of the first inning, Dosey retired the first seven batters he faced, including erasing a walk with a double-play in the second, before facing his first real test in the third inning. With one out in the third, Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) singled and advanced into scoring position when the next batter was hit by a pitch. A two-out walk loaded the bases for Healdsburg but Dosey got a flyball out to strand all three runners. Then, in the fourth inning when Healdsburg loaded the bases again with one out on a walk and two singles, Dosey escaped damage again even though Koelzer hit a pop fly into the sundrenched outfield that fell to the turf, because right fielder Joey Parente (Lewis & Clark) quickly picked up the ball he lost in the sun and threw home to beat the runner from third for the second out, and Dosey induced a ground out for the third. Orange County increased its lead whenPhillip doubled and scored on a passed ball in the fifth inning, Logan Pouelsen (Hawaii) doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tate Shaw (Texas) in the sixth, Fletcher, who hit a single to lead off the eighth, scored from first on Pulcheon’s double and Pulcheon scored two outs later on a single by Shaw to make the score 5-0. Healdsburg got within striking distance in the bottom half of the eighth inning when Cole Brodnansky (Santa Rosa JC) led off with a single, Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) doubled and Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) hit a three-run home run to make the score 5-3, but Braxton Smith (Louisiana Tech), who entered the game to pitch for the Riptide in the sixth inning, and Caleb Kilian (Texas Tech), who pitched the ninth, closed out the game by retiring the last five batters in order, three via strikeouts, and Orange County claimed the 2017 CCL Championship.
Click here for the Championship Game boxscore

Alec Rennard (Michigan) struck out nine over seven innings, Grant Little (Texas Tech) and Jamey Smart (LMU) had run-scoring hits in a three-run seventh inning to overtake a 3-1 deficit, and Jared Noonan stranded a runner in each of the last two innings to lead Healdsburg to a 4-3 win in the first win-or-go home early game today. While Orange County jumped out to an early lead after a two-out RBI-single by Paul Gomez followed by a run-scoring double by Parente scored two in the second inning, Rennard retired the next ten batters in order, five via strikeouts, before giving up a solo home run by Fletcher and a double to Pulcheon to lead off the sixth inning, and then retired the next six batters, one on the bases as part of a double-play to keep the score close. The Healdsburg offense had the makings of rally in the fifth inning when Tofteland reached on a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a single by Brodnansky and scored on a single by Esteban Martinez (San Jose St), but Parker Joe Robinson (Texas), who had not allowed a run in 16-plus innings this summer, came into pitch in relief of starter Ricky Reynoso (Pacific) with runners on first and second and nobody out and, despite giving up a one-out single to Bryce Nagata (Sonoma St) to load the bases, fielded a broken-bat grounder and threw to the plate to start a 1-2-3 double-play that squelched the rally and kept his summer scoreless summer intact. With one out in the seventh inning, however, the Healdsburg rally came to fruition. Martinez singled, Landon Etzel (Houston) drew a walk and, after a Nagata ground out advanced the runners to second and third, Little hit a two-out RBI-infield single that generated a second run when the attempted throw to try a beat him to first sailed past the first baseman and allowed Etzel to score the tying run and Little to get into scoring position. Smart then drove a double to the wall to score Little with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run. Rennard got a 6-4-3 double-play to erase a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh inning before turning the ball over to Noonan, who got the final six outs, two on strikeouts to give Healdsburg the win and the winner-take-all matchup that followed.
Click here for the boxscore of the first championship game

Fletcher, who had two hits in each of the four Orange County playoff games, including a home run, and drove in three runs, was named the most valuable player of the playoffs.

2017 California Collegiate League All-Tournament Team

MVP: Dominic Fletcher, CF (Arkansas) Orange County

Chase Gardner, LHP (UConn), Healdsburg
Juan Cortina, RHP (St. Edwards), Orange County
Alec Rennard, RHP (Michigan), Healdsburg
Brandon Lewis, OF (LA Pierce College), Conejo
Logan Pouelsen, 3B (Hawaii), Orange County
Beau Phillip, SS (San Joaquin JC), Orange County
Grant Little, SS (Texas Tech), Healdsburg
Jamey Smart, LF, (Loyola Marymount), Healdsburg
Tate Shaw, RF (Texas), Orange County

Go to the CCL Playoffs Info Center for the complete playoffs schedule and details about how to watch replays of all the playoff games online.

July 29, 2017

Compton, CA
The Orange County Riptide and the Healdsburg Prune Packers, the top two teams in the CCL standings this season, will meet in the championship game 10am tomorrow at the MLB Youth Academy as the 2017 CCL Playoffs reach their culmination. Orange County defeated Healdsburg 7-1 in the winners’ game today to advance directly to the championship game while Healdsburg had to win the second elimination game tonight, defeating the Conejo Oaks 8-7, to advance.

Juan Cortina (St. Edwards) pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out four, Timothy Holdgrafer pitched three scoreless innings in relief, and Logan Pouelsen (Hawaii) hit a solo home and a pair of RBI-singles to lead the Riptide in their winners’ game victory. Cortina, who did not issue a walk during his six-inning start, pitched with runners on base in all but one inning, yet never allowed Healdsburg, the top offensive team in the CCL this season, to get a rally going. Stranding one runner in the first, Cortina got all the run support he would need in the top of the second inning when Pouelsen led off with a solo home run, Connor Beck (Texas Tech) singled, Tate Shaw (Texas) doubled and, after Healdsburg’s starting pitcher Cooper Casad (Pacific) retired the next two batters, Joey Parente (Lewis & Clark) hit a two-run single to give Orange County a 3-0 lead. Cortina then stranded two runners in the bottom half of the second inning, and a double-play erased another baserunner in the third before Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning to get Healdsburg on the board. Cortina then retired the next eight batters in order before stranding one final runner in the sixth inning. Four consecutive two-singles by the Riptide in the fifth inning increased the Orange County lead by two, and a leadoff double by Beau Phillip (San Joaquin JC), a two-out single by Pouelsen and a two-base error in the seventh increased it to 7-1. Holdgrafer gave up a single to Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) to lead off the seventh inning, but that was the only hit he allowed, striking out two over the final three innings to close out the win.
Click here for the boxscore of this game

A little more than an hour after their loss to Orange County, the Healdsburg offense showed their strength in the second elimination game today. The Packers scored three runs in the first inning on an RBI-double by Jamey Smart (LMU) and a sacrifice fly by Brett Bautista (San Jose St), three runs on three RBI-doubles by Smart, Warren and Tofteland in the third inning and one in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Warren in the fourth to jump out to a 7-1 lead over the Oaks. Justin Giovannoni (Pacific), who started on the mound for Healdsburg, benefitted from the early run support and, despite giving up a solo home run to Grant Mayeaux (San Diego St) in the second inning and a two-run home run to Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) that cut the Healdsburg lead to 7-3, was in control of the game until the sixth inning when he issued three walks, the only walks of his stint, that all came in to score, two on a double by DJ Miller (Ole Miss) and one on a ground out by Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) that got the Oaks back in the game 7-6. Alex Waldsmith (Santa Clara) relieved Giovannoni after Miller’s double and retired the two batters he faced to limit the damage and, after Healdsburg scored one more run on a passed ball in the seventh inning, Chrit Rudkin took over the pitching duties. Rudkin faced a tough situation right away after walking the first batter he faced in the bottom of the seventh and then giving up a double to Milo Beam (Purdue) that put two runners in scoring position with no outs, but Rudkin struck out the next three batters, allowing one runner to score on a wild pitch, to maintain the Packers’ lead 8-7. He then pitched a perfect eighth inning and Jared Noonan pitched a perfect ninth to give Healdsburg the win and another shot at the Riptide and the CCL championship tomorrow. Kenneth Johnson Jr. (Cal St Bakersfield) started on the mound for Conejo, lasting only two innings to suffer the loss before turning the pitching duties over to Jacob Flores (USC), who allowed one run on three hits while striking out three in three innings, and Robby Medel (Arizona), who notched five strikeouts over the last four innings, allowing one run on two hits.
Click here for the boxscore of this game

In the first elimination game today, played just prior to the Orange County-Healdsburg matchup, Theron Kay (Northridge), Angus Denton (Arkansas) and Eric Ma (Whitman College) stranded 13 runners on base, allowing only two runs despite giving up a combined 14 hits, Brandon Lewis (LA Pierce College) drove in three runs on a two-run home run and an RBI-double and Miller and Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) each hit two-run home runs to lead the Oaks to an 8-2 win over Neptune Beach that eliminated the Pearl from the playoffs. Lewis’s double was the third consecutive hit the Oaks strung together to lead off the game, following singles by Beam and Max Weinstein (Cal Lutheran) and, together with a Cockrell RBI-ground out, put the Oaks up 2-0. Miller’s home run in the third inning upped the score to 4-0 before James Free (Pacific) drove in a run for Neptune on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Lewis’ home run in the seventh and Shaikin’s homer in the eighth then put the game away for the Oaks.
Click here for the bocscore of this game

Healdsburg and Orange County will meet in the CCL Championship Game tomorrow at 10am, with a second “if necessary” game to follow at 2pm should Healdsburg win the first game.

Go to the CCL Playoffs Info Center for the complete playoffs schedule and details about how to watch the games live online.

July 28, 2017

Compton, CA
The Orange County Riptide and the Healdsburg Prune Packers won their first-round games at the CCL Playoffs today at the MLB Youth Academy and will meet tomorrow at 2pm with the winner going directly to the championship game Sunday and the loser having to face an elimination game at 6pm Saturday before being able to advance.

Tate Shaw (Texas) hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning that proved to be the winning margin, Parker Joe Robinson (Texas) kept his scoreless pitching summer going, stranding two runners in scoring position in the sixth and Caleb Kilian (Texas Tech) struck out four over the final three innings to close out a 5-4 win for the Riptide over the Neptune Beach Pearl in the early game today. The Riptide scored two runs in their first at bat to take the early lead when Joey Parente led off by reaching on a two-base error, advanced to third on a Beau Phllip (Lewis & Clark) single and scored on a Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) single for the first run, and Phillip, after stealing second base and advancing to third on Fletcher’s single, scored on an RBI-groundout by Logan Pouelsen (Hawaii) for the second run. Orange County starting pitcher Hayden Shenefield retired the first six batters he faced in order, two on the bases via a fielder’s choice and a caught stealing, before Andrew Rosa (Oklahoma St) hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning and make the score 2-1. Rosa led off the fifth inning with a single and scored when David Kyriacou (Kansas) hit a ball over the right-field wall to give the Pearl a 3-2 lead, but the lead was brief as the Riptide scored two of their own in the bottom half of the inning when Cooper Uhl (LMU) walked, Paul Gomez singled, both runners advanced on an infield ground out, Uhl scored on an RBI-ground out by Phillip and Gomez scored on a passed ball. A one-out single by Tim Lichty (Texas A&M) prompted Riptide manager Tyger Pederson to bring Robinson into the game to relieve Shenefield and, after recording the second out, Robinson gave up a double to Rosa, his third hit of the game, to put two runners in scoring position. Robinson struck out the next batter to increase his scoreless inning streak this summer to 16. Kilian then entered the game to pitch in the top of the seventh and, after retiring the side in order, got an important insurance run to work with when Shaw hit his home run. Kilian then retired the side in order in the eighth inning and struck out the first two batters of the ninth before Kyriacou, Jacob Chappell (Oklahoma St) and Harrison Moore, who also had three hits in the game, hit three consecutive two-out singles to get score one and get within one, but Kilian got a fly-ball for the final out of the game. Kevin Stone (Harvard) started on the mound for Neptune Beach, striking out four in seven innings of work and suffered the loss.
Click here for a boxscore of this game

Chase Gardner (UConn) struck out nine over six innings, Bryce Nagata (Sonoma St), Jamey Smart (LMU) and Brett Bautista (San Jose St) each had three hits and the Healdsburg offense scored six runs in the first two innings en route to beating the Conejo Oaks 9-5 in the second game of the playoffs today. Gardner, who was the league’s showcase starter in the CCL All-Star game earlier this month, set the tempo of how the game would go for Conejo in the first inning, fielding a bunt for a one-pitch out and then striking out the next two batters. Then the Healdsburg offense set its own tempo in the bottom half of the inning when Nagata led off with a triple, Smart, the league’s RBI-leader, drove Nagata home with a single, and Bautista hit an RBI-triple to give Healdsburg a 2-0 lead. Gardner struck out two more in a scoreless top of the second inning and then Healdsburg pounced on the opportunity of two leadoff walks in the bottom half, scoring four runs on RBI-singles by Nagata and Smart and sacrifice flies by Grant Little (Texas Tech) and Bautista. Gardner held the Oaks scoreless until one out in the fourth inning, when a walk and a reached-on-error put two runners on in front of a DJ Miller (Ole Miss) double and, after an RBI-ground out plated a second run for the Oaks, Gardner finished through the sixth without any further trouble. The Oaks did make a run late, scoring three runs in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Milo Beam (Purdue) and RBI-doubles by Max Winstein (Cal Lutheran) and Brandon Lewis (LA Pierce College), but that was all they would get off Nolan Bond (Houston), who came in to pitch in relief of Gardner in the seventh and went on to retire the side in order in the final two innings.
Click here for the boxscore of this game

Healdsburg and Orange County will meet in the Winners Game tomorrow at 2pm. Conejo and Neptune Beach will meet in the first elimination game at 10am. The winner of the 10am game and the loser of the 2pm will meet in the second elimination game Saturday at 6pm.

Go to the CCL Playoffs Info Center for the complete playoffs schedule and details about how to watch the games live online.

July 27, 2017

Pasadena, CA
Justin Beck (San Jose St) had three hits, including a home run in his final at bat this summer, Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) had three hits and two RBI, Andrew Ramos (Cumberlands) had three hits and two RBI, Myles Emerson (Cal Poly) hit a two-run double and a sacrifice-fly and Maaki Yamazaki (Hawaii) had three hits to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to an 11-9 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Jackie Robinson Stadium in the final regular season contest in the CCL this summer. Austin Isenhart (New Mexico) started on the mound for the Blues, collecting six strikeouts over five innings to pick up the win. Arroyo Seco had a “staff day” on the mound, sending nine different pitchers in to pitch one final inning. Brennan Mckenzie (Cal Poly Pomona) had three hits, Tyler Durna (UC San Diego) hit a pair of run-scoring singles and Brock Bell (Northridge) hit a two-run double to lead the Saints.
Recaps of this game were not available at post time.

July 30, 2017

CCL Playoffs
Friday Jul 28-30
MLB Youth Academy
901 E Artesia Blvd.
Compton, CA 90221

Four-team double-elimination tournament

Schedule
Friday Jul 28
Game 1: Neptune Beach Pearl 4, Orange County Riptide 5 Boxscore of Game 1
Replay the live-stream of Game 1
Game 2: Conejo Oaks 5, Healdsburg Prune Packers 9 Boxscore of Game 2
Replay the live-stream of Game 2

Saturday Jul 29
Game 3: Neptune Beach 2, Conejo 8 (Neptune eliminated) Boxscore of Game 3
Replay the live-stream of Game 3
Game 4: Orange County 7, Healdsburg 1 Boxscore of Game 4
Replay the live-stream of Game 4
Game 5: Conejo 7, Healdsburg 8 (Conejo eliminated) Boxscore of Game 5
Replay the live-stream of Game 5

Sunday Jul 30
Game 6: Orange County 3, Healdsburg 4 Boxscore of Game 6
Replay the live-stream of Game 6
Game 7: Orange County 5, Healdsburg 3 (Orange County Champions!) Boxscore of Game 7
Replay the live-stream of Game 7

Tickets
Tickets to attend the CCL Playoffs can be purchased at the front gate. Admission is $5 per person, children 12 and under free. No reserved seating. General admission only.
Parking is $3 per day on the El Camino Compton College campus. Get your parking pass in one of the kiosks.

Viewing/Replaying the CCL Playoffs
Every game of the CCL Playoffs will be available for live viewing via Stretch Internet. Look for the green “Live-stream” text in the schedule above next to the game you want to view and click to be directed right to the broadcast. The coverage will begin 15 minutes before the start time of the game and can be replayed on demand.

Both Chris Cadeau and Josh Schaefer are students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and have broadcast experience with several sports in the ASU program, most notably the tradition-rich ASU Sun Devils baseball program.

CCL Playoffs
Friday Jul 28-30
MLB Youth Academy
901 E Artesia Blvd.
Compton, CA 90221

Four-team double-elimination tournament

Friday matchups
12pm Game 1: Neptune Beach Pearl at Orange County Riptide
4pm Game 2: Conejo Oaks at Healdsburg Prune Packers

Saturday matchups
10am Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2 (elimination game)
2pm Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2
6pm Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs Loser Game 4 (elimination game)

Sunday Championship
10am Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 5
2pm Game 7 (if necessary): Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 5

July 26, 2017

San Luis Obispo, CA
Brandon Lewis (LA Pierce College) doubled to lead off the seventh inning and scored the go ahead run on a Chase Cokrell (Ole Miss) RBI-single, Lewis doubled again to lead off the ninth inning and scored when Cockrell hit a home run and Grant Mayeaux (San Diego St) hit a solo home run in the ninth to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 5-1 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Sinsheimer Park. The result clinched the fourth and final spot in the CCL playoffs set to begin Friday at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton for the Oaks and eliminated the Blues from contention. The two teams entered the game one-half game apart in the standings and the winner tonight was in the driver’s seat for the playoffs, the Oaks clinching the spot outright, the Blues having to win again tomorrow night to clinch. The Oaks win settled things and, as the number four seed, they will meet the number one seed Healdsburg Prune Packers in the 4pm game on Friday. Jackson Simonsgaard (Oxnard College), Ty Harpenau (Texas Tech) and Robert Medel (Arizona) pitched for the Oaks tonight, striking out a combined eight batters, walking only one and allowing one run on five hits. Marco Murillo (Campbellsville) started on the mound for the Blues and struck out six over seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits to suffer the loss. Mayeaux doubled in the second inning and scored on a Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) single to give the Oaks the early 1-0 lead that lasted until the seventh when Lewis doubled and scored to make the lead two. The Blues scored their only run in the bottom of the seventh when Tyson Quolas (Monterey Bay) singled and scored on a two-out RBI-single by Robbie Silva. Medel pitched the last two innings scoreless with three strikeouts to close out the win for Conejo.
Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Ventura, CA
Chris McKee (Ventura College) singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, stole second base and scored on a Blake Mann (UCSB) walk-off double to give the Ventura Halos an 8-7 win over the Orange County Riptide today at Ventura College. The final regular season game for both teams, the win by Ventura snapped their 13-game losing streak, knocked Orange County from the number one seed in the CCL playoffs and cemented the CCL hitting crown for Ventura’s Dayton Provost (Ventura College). Provost, who led the CCL in batting average for most of the season, had two singles in five at bats in today’s game to finish the summer with a league-best .431 average, almost 20 percentage points higher than Healdsburg’s Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) who finished second in the league at .402. The loss moved Orange County one-half game behind the Healdsburg Prune Packers for the top regular season record in the CCL and means the Riptide will be the number two seed in the CCL playoffs Friday at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, when they will meet the Neptune Beach Pearl, the number three seeded team, in the first game of the playoffs at noon.

The two teams traded runs throughout today’s game as Orange County used seven pitchers to keep every arm tuned and rested for the playoffs and the Halos used four. The Riptide scored first on three consecutive two-singles in the first inning and the Halos tied in the second when Rudy Aguilar (Ventura College) doubled in a run. Connor Beck (Texas Tech) and Joey Parente hit run-scoring singles in the third for Orange County, and Nic Lacayo (Michigan St) hit a two-run single in the bottom of the inning to tie the score again. Mitch Andrews (Lamar) hit a two-out RBI-double for Orange County in the fourth and Aaron Greenfield (UNC) added an RBI-ground out in the sixth to give the Riptide a three-run lead, but Aguilar tripled to lead off the sixth, scored on a McKee ground out and Christian Jones (Washington) hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh to get the Halos within one. Tate Shaw (Texas) hit a leadoff double for Orange County in the eighth and scored on a Beck groundout, and again in the bottom of the inning, the Halos tied the score when Provost scored on a two-out double by Daniel Edson (USC) and Edson scored on a single by Calvin Farris (Brown). That all setup Mann’s walk-off double to win it in the ninth.
Click here for recaps of this game

Long Beach, CA
Joseph Argumedo (Lynn) hit a bases-loaded, two-out, three-run double in the eighth inning, and Aaron Soto (Marymount) stranded two runners in scoring position in the last two innings to lead the Academy Barons to a 6-5 win over the Long Beach Legends today at Long Beach City College. Trailing 4-3 heading into the eighth, Argumedo’s double was one of only four Barons hits in the game and the three runners he drove in were available because an error extended the inning, making five of their six runs in the game unearned. Soto, the fourth pitcher used by the Academy, entered the game once the Barons got the lead and stranded Luke DeVenney (Eastern Michigan), who had tripled, in the eighth inning, and left two runners stranded in the ninth, after Grant Gamble (Azusa Pacific) reached on an error, advanced to third on a single by Jake Sahagian (Sonoma St) and scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Savage (Masters) in the ninth to pick up the win. Richie O’Reilly (Georgetown) hit a two-run home run and Gamble had an RBI-single in third inning, and Griffin Keller (Santa Clara) drove in Connor Montgomery, who had a triple, double and single in the game, in the fourth inning to give Long Beach the early lead. Jonah Dean-Hargroves (Jackson St) score two unearned runs for the Barons early after reaching base on an error and scoring on an error in the first inning, and after singling, advancing to third on an error and scoring on an RBI-ground out by Eric Whitfield in the fourth. Argumedo reached on an error in the seventh inning and scored the Barons third run on an RBI-ground out by Donovyn Curiel (Citrus JC). DeVenney started on the mound for Long Beach and recorded seven strikeouts over seven innings, allowing five runs, four unearned, on only two hits.
Click here for recaps of this game

Pasadena, CA
The Southern California Catch scored nine unearned runs and beat the Arroyo Seco Saints 11-8 today at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Tyler Fisher (Olivet Nazarene) and Nate Pecota (William Jewell) each had a double and two singles and Jonathan Ducoff (Houston Baptist) doubled twice and scored twice to lead the Catch. Mitch Kerner (Emory) hit three singles and scored three times, Gabe Chavez (Rio Hondo JC) hit a double, two singles and scored two runs and Blake Burton (Washington) hit three singles to lead the Saints.
Click here for recaps of this game

Auburn, CA
Shane Betts drove in four runs on three singles, Aaron Fritts (Spokane Falls CC) had three hits, including a two-run home run, and Brock Ragatz (Northern St) notched six strikeouts to lead the Auburn Wildcats to an 8-6 win over the Rockville Rock Hounds tonight at James Field. With the scored tied 5-5 in the eighth inning, Gaige Howard (Kenyon College) hit an RBI-ground out, and Betts and Sam Curtis (William Jessup) each had RBI-singles to give Auburn the lead. Dominic Foscalina (Utah) hit a two-run double, Kyle Krebs (Solano CC) singled twice and scored twice and Zachary Bartelme (Holy Nars) singled twice to lead the Rock Hounds.
Click here for recaps of this game

July 25, 2017

San Luis Obispo, CA
Jack Schneider (Grand Canyon) pitched a complete game shutout and the San Luis Obispo Blues scored two runs without the benefit of a hit and a third on an error to beat the Ventura Halos 3-0 tonight at Sinsheimer Park to keep their hopes of reaching the CCL playoffs alive. Schneider, who notched six strikeouts and scattered six hits, used 101 pitches to complete the game, right on the mark of the Pitch Smart limits established by USA baseball to govern summer competition, benefitting from two double-plays turned by his defense and runner a thrown out trying to steal second base. The Blues offense manufactured one run in the first inning when leadoff hitter Ricky Martinez (Sacramento St) reached base after being hit by a pitch, stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Ramos (Cumberlands). They manufactured a run in the second inning when Marco Murillo (Campbellsville) drew a lead-off walk, stole second base, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI-ground out by Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly). Martinez then scored again in the sixth inning after hitting a lead-off double and, one out later, scoring on an two-base throwing error to post the final score. The win moves the Blues to within one half game of the Conejo Oaks in the race for the final berth to the CCL playoffs beginning Friday at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton. The Oaks travel to Sinsheimer Park tomorrow night for a final meeting between the two teams. If the Oaks win, they clinch a berth to the playoffs. If the Blues win, they will still have to win their game Thursday night against the Arroyo Seco Saints in Pasadena to clinch a playoff berth.
Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Oakland, CA
The Healdsburg Prune Packers scored 15 runs in each game of their doubleheader with the Walnut Creek Crawdads, winning 15-1 and 15-7 today at Laney College. Alec Rennard (Michigan), Nolan Bond Houston), Chrit Rudkin and Alex Waldsmith (Santa Clara) combined to strikeout eleven in the first game, with Rennard starting the game by striking out five of the six batters he faced. The four pitchers allowed a combined five hits without issuing a walk and the only run they allowed came in the ninth inning when Max Gray hit a leadoff home run. Offensively, the Packers collected 17 hits as a team, with every member of the starting lineup notching at least one hit and six of them having multiple-hit games. Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) hit a three-run home run and two RBI-singles to finish with a game-high five RBI, Nickolas Oar (Stanford) hit a solo home run and an RBI-double, Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) drove in three runs and Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) had three hits to lead Healdsburg.

In the second game, the pitching rotation of Dillon Brown (Cal St Fullerton), Jared Noonan, Edward O’Bannon III (Pacific) and Nick Vega (Sonoma St) did not dominate as much as their teammates in the first game, but the offense didn’t miss a beat. Recording another 16 hits as a team, this time Healdsburg had seven players collecting hits and five finishing with multiple-hit games. Oar hit another home run, this time a two-run shot, and added an RBI-single and a double, Jamey Smart (LMU) had a pair of two-run doubles and a run-scoring ground out to finish with a game-high five RBI, Esteban Martinez (Ottawa) had three hits and two RBI, Bret Bautista (San Jose St) hit two triples and a double, and Bryce Nagata (Sonoma St) had three hits to lead the Packers. The Healdsburg pitching foursome collected eight strikeouts and walked only one batter, but allowed twelve hits, including a three-run home run by Daylen Calicdan (Hawaii), who totaled three hits in the game, and the pitchers allowed run-scoring singles by Joshua Nelson (Holy Names), Kevin Whitaker (Laney), Darrel Quiroz and Edwin Garcia.
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La Mirada, CA
Andreas Kim (So Carolina Upstate) hit a three-run home run and two singles, Gabe Chavez (Rio Hondo) had a four-for-four game, and Alex Briggs (LIU Brooklyn) hit a two-out two-run double to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to an 11-10 win over the Southern California Catch today at Biola University. Omar Ortiz (Pacific) hit two home runs for the second consecutive game, Steven Garrett (Azusa Pacific) hit a home run and a two-run double, and Evan Sandmann (Dallas Baptist) added a solo home run to lead the Catch. The Saints used five pitchers in the game, including Gabe Golob (NYU) and Gunnar Friend (Avila) who retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to preserve the win. The Catch used six pitchers, including Joseph Hanley (North Central) who struck out three in two innings of work.
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Fairfield, CA
Jason Wutsch (College of Marin), Nathan Gutierrez (Solano CC) and Kenney Quilitan (Solano CC) combined for 15 strikeouts, Max Smith (UNLV) hit two doubles, two singles and drove in three runs and Dominic Foscalina (Utah) had four run-generating at bats, including a solo home run, two sacrifice flies and a two-run single to lead the Rockville Rock Hounds to an 11-6 win over the Auburn Wildcats today at Yarborough Stadium. Wutsch started on the mound for Rockville, recording six strikeouts in five innings, but allowed five runs, including four in the first on an RBI-double by Justin Glover (Eckerd) and a three-run double by Gaige Howard (Kenyon), and a solo home run by Glover in the third. Gutierrez entered the game to pitch in the sixth inning and struck out six over two and two-thirds innings to pick up the win, and Quilitan pitched the last inning and a third, striking out three, to close out the game.
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Compton, CA
Jonah Dean-Hargroves (Jackson St) reached base on an error to lead off the ninth inning with the score tied, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored the game winning run on another error to lead the Academy Barons to a 6-5 walk-off win over the Long Beach Legends today at the MLB Youth Academy. Trailing 5-0 after Long Beach scored four in the first inning on an RBI-ground out, a bases loaded walk and a two-run double by Joe Caparis (Pepperdine), and once in the second on a run-scoring single by Jake Sahagian (Sonoma St), the Barons scored four times in the fourth inning on an RBI-single by Jason Wallace and three bases loaded walks and once in the fifth when Joseph Argumedo (Lynn) led off with a double and scored on an error to tie the score 5-5. Aaron Soto (Marymount), Sebastian Sanchez, Joseph Mercado (Dominguez Hills) and Tyler Tungate (Faulkner) shutout the Legends the last seven innings in relief of starter Tyler Witt (Wake Forest), allowing only three hits and no walks while striking out seven, with Tungate picking up the win. Evan May (Hawaii-Pacific) was saddled with the loss despite pitching the last three and one third innings hitless and striking out five.
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July 24, 2017

Thousand Oaks, CA
The Santa Barbara Foresters scored four runs by batters who reached base without the benefit of a hit to spoil the first opportunity the Conejo Oaks had to clinch the last spot in the CCL playoffs, beating the Oaks 4-2 today at Sparky Anderson Field. Two of the batters who scored reached base on a walk, one by being hit by a pitch and the fourth by reaching on an error. Zach Humphreys (TCU) drove in two of the runs with an RBI-single in the third inning and a run-producing ground out in the fifth. Chandler Bengston (Columbia) drove in what proved to be the game-winner with a two-out single in the sixth inning and the last Foresters run scored in the ninth inning when Spencer Steer (Oregon) walked with two outs, advanced to second on Josh Jung (Texas Tech) single, advanced to third on a Luke Ritter (Wichita St) single and scored on a balk. The Oaks, who never had the lead in the game, scored once in the third inning when Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) led off with a single and scored on a two-out RBI-single by DJ Miller (Ole Miss), and once in the eighth after Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss), Grant Mayeaux (San Diego St) and Juan Gonzalez (Oklahoma Baptist) hit three consecutive singles to start the inning, loading the bases with no outs. Codi Santana (Hawaii-Pacific) then hit into a double-play that scored Cockrell but also cut short a potential big inning. Santa Barbara used five pitchers in the game, the Oaks six. Ty Weist (Columbia) picked up the win with a five-inning start, allowing one run on five hits and striking out five. Theron Kay (Northridge) started on the mound for Conejo, throwing five innings, allowing three runs on only two hits and striking out four to suffer the loss. Conejo, which has a half-game lead on the San Luis Obispo Blues for the fourth and final spot in the CCL playoffs set to start Friday at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, have one game left in San Luis Obispo against the Blues on Wednesday. The Blues, have three games remaining and must win all three to advance to the playoffs.
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