July 20, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
Clark Eder (San Diego St) struck out seven over the last five innings, Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) hit a two-out, bases-loaded three-run triple and Jack Kuzma (Cal Poly) drove in three runs on a pair of RBI-singles to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 13-8 win over the Conejo Oaks tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Eder entered the game to begin the fifth inning in relief of Blues starting pitcher Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) with San Luis trailing 7-6 and completely dominated the rest of the game. He retired the side in order in each of his first four innings and then struck out three in the ninth inning to close out the win. He allowed only two batters to reach base out of the 17 he faced, Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine), who doubled off Eder with one out in the ninth inning, and Jordan McFarland (Arkansas), who drove Lewis in. Eder then struck out the last two batters of the game, finishing stronger than he started by striking out seven of the last nine outs he recorded. Brain Klein (Texas Tech) hit an RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the score and the Blues took their first lead of the game in the seventh when Jay Charleston (Tennessee) singled, advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches and scored on error, and the added five insurance runs in the eighth when Noah Taylor (Cal Poly) singled for the third time in the game and scored on a Kuzma single and, after a pair of walks loaded the bases, Jones hit his triple to drive in three and then he scored on a wild pitch. The Oaks had jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, scoring three times in the first inning on RBI-singles by Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss), Michael Spears (Ole Miss) and Drew Sims (Utah Valley), and twice in the second on an error and another Cockrell RBI-single. San Luis then rallied for five runs in the third inning to tie the score when the first three batters of the inning reached base on a single and two walks and Taylor hit an RBI-single, Kuzma drove in two with a single, Charleston singled in a run and an error let in another. Conejo took the lead again in their next at bat when Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) tripled in a run and scored on an error to make the score 7-5, but the Blues scored an unearned run in their half of the fourth inning to start their takeover of the game.
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Pasadena, CA
The Arroyo Seco Saints took advantage of four walks, a hit batsmen and single to score three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Orange County Riptide 15-14 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. In the most literal example of a walk-off win, Bennett McCaskill (Dartmouth) drove in the winning run with one out in the ninth inning by drawing a five-pitch walk with the bases loaded. It was also totally uncharacteristic of the game as a whole as both teams pounded the ball, Orange County collecting 17 hits and Arroyo Seco collecting 16. The Saints had jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning on seven hits, including RBI-doubles by Gabe Chavez (San Bernardino), who had a game-high four hits, Brennan McKenzie (Cal Poly Pomona), and Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona), whose RBI-single was the only hit the Saints would get in the ninth inning. Colin King (Regis), who started on the mound for Arroyo Seco and struck out the side in the first inning, surrendered a single and a double to lead off the second inning, both of whom scored on RBI-groundballs to make the score 8-2, and, later, pitched a scoreless third and fourth inning before things started getting complicated in the fifth. In the meantime, the Saints added to their lead in the third inning when Chavez led off with his second double, Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) drove Chavez in with a single, and, after Cowley singled for the second of his three hits in the game, Tristan Peterson hit a three-run home run to put Arroyo Seco up 12-2. From then until the bottom of the ninth inning, however, all the scoring belonged to Orange County. The Riptide scored three runs in the fifth inning when Jake Ortega (Bakersfield) led off with a double and Bradley Jekich (Pacific) and Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) hit RBI-singles; once in the seventh on McWhorter’s third hit of the game; three times in the eighth on a two-run double by Paul Gomez (Missouri) and a sacrifice fly; and five times in the ninth when Ortega doubled again to drive in two, Jekich hit an RBI-single, Micah Pries (Pt. Loma) singled in a run and an error let in another to give Orange County their first lead of the game 14-12. That lead was short-lived, however, as the walk-off ninth inning station-to-station parade unfolded shortly thereafter.
Click here for recaps of this game
Healdsburg, CA
The Healdsburg Prune Packers pummeled the Southern California Catch today at Recreation Park, sweeping a doubleheader with scores of 11-0 and 21-3.
Ian Villers (Cal) and Arman Sabouri (Cal) combined to pitch a four-hit shutout in the first game today, striking out two and six batters, respectively, and getting all the run support they would need in the second inning when Sam Wezniak (Cal) hit an RBI-triple to put the Packers up 1-0. Villers, the starting pitcher, retired the first seven batters he faced before the Catch collected three singles in the third inning but failed to score. Sabouri relieved Villers to start the fourth inning and was even more stingy, allowing only one hit and retiring the last seven batters of the game, including three strikeouts in the ninth, to close out the win. The Packers didn’t pad their lead until their last two at bats, scoring two runs in the seventh inning and eight in the eighth in which Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) batted twice and drove in three runs in the inning on an RBI-double and a two-run single, Jake McNichols (Santa Clara) hit a two-run double, and Kevin Sandri (Pacific) hit an RBI-single.
Sam Reinertsen (Davidson College) struck out eight in four scoreless innings, Quentin Selma (Cal) hit a grand slam and a double, MacNichols hit a three-run home run and a two-run single, Luke Fegen (Indiana State) hit a three-run triple and Ben Sanderson (UCSB) hit two doubles and a single to highlight Healdsburg’s rout in the second game. Reinertsen’s four innings closed out the Packers’ win and featured strikeouts in every inning, including two in the seventh and eighth innings and all three outs in the ninth.
June 23, 2018
Healdsburg, CA
The Healdsburg Prune Packers scored 11 runs in both ends of a doubleheader sweeping the Conejo Oaks today at Recreation Park.
Jake MacNichols (Santa Clara) hit a first inning two-run home run, Luke Fegen (Indiana State) hit a solo home run in the second, Wendell Champion II (Houston) hit a pair of RBI-doubles and Ryan Shreve (Pacific) notched six strikeouts in four innings of work to lead the Packers to a 11-4 win in the opening game of the doubleheader. Shreve, who started on the mound for Healdsburg and surrendered a first inning solo home run to Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine), struck out four consecutive batters after the homer and struck out the last two batters he faced before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen with a 4-2 lead. Fegen singled and scored on Champion’s first double, and Champion scored on a double-play ball to up the Healdsburg lead to 6-2 in the fifth inning and, after Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) singled home a run for the Oaks in the sixth, the Packers blew the game open when Quentin Selma (Cal) doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, scored on Champion’s second double, and then Healdsburg scored four more in the seventh. Ramon Gomez (Oxnard College) hit an RBI-double in the top of the seventh to account for the Oaks fourth run.
In the second game of the doubleheader, three Healdsburg pitchers combined to strikeout 12, Selma hit a three-run home run, and Bryan Arias (San Antonio) hit a solo shot and an RBI-double to lead the Packers to an 11-2 win. Arman Sabouri (Cal) struck out the side in the seventh inning, retired the side in order in the eighth and, after Cockrell hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth inning, struck out the next three in order to close out the win for Healdsburg. Chase Gardner (UConn) started on the mound for the Packers, striking out three over three innings, and allowed the only other Oaks run when Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) tripled to lead off the game and scored on a ground ball out. Henrik Reinertsen (Pacific) pitched the middle three innings scoreless and also struck out three while allowing only one hit. The Healdsburg offense scored three times off of Oaks starting pitcher Kevin Holcomb (Glendale JC) despite Holcomb striking out seven over four innings. Arias drove in the first run in the first inning with his RBI-double and Fegen hit a two-run single in the second but, as soon as Holcomb left the game, the offense, as it did in the first game today, scored in bunches. The two home runs by Arias and Selma plated four in the fifth inning and Healdsburg scored four more in the eighth, the big hit being a two-out, two-run double by Blake McDonald (Santa Rosa JC).
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Santa Barbara, CA
Caleb Sloan (TCU) struck seven of the first nine batters he faced, three relievers pitched four-plus innings of hitless, scoreless ball and the Santa Barbara Foresters won their eleventh straight game to start the CCL season beating the Arroyo Seco Saints 6-3 tonight at Pershing Park. Sloan was dominant the first time through the Saints lineup, allowing only a walk and one hit, a Colin Shepherd (Miami-Ohio) double to lead off the third inning. Retiring the next six batters after the double, Sloan allowed three runs, all unearned, in the fifth inning after hitting the lead off batter, giving up a double to Bryce Gray (Notre Dame) and then committing an error himself to allow two runs to score. After a second out was recorded in the inning, Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) singled home the third unearned run of the inning and Sloan was lifted from the game. Cowley’s hit would be the last of the night for Arroyo Seco. Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts) got the last out of the fifth inning and the first out of the sixth, Elliott Anderson (Auburn) pitched two and two-third hitless innings, and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) pitched a hitless ninth to secure the win. Offensively, the Foresters scratched out six runs on nine hits despite striking out eleven times as a team. Arroyo Seco starting pitcher Cameron Brown (Notre Dame) recorded five of the strikeouts over four innings of work, but two one-out walks in the third inning led to two Foresters runs, and an error in the fourth led to a third. Michael Gomez (Cal Poly Pomona) relieved Brown in the fifth inning and recorded the other six strikeouts over the next three innings, allowing the fourth Santa Barbara run to score when Conor Davis (Auburn) doubled in the seventh inning and scored on a two-out RBI-single by Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St). The Foresters scored twice more in the eighth, a Utah Jones (North Greenville) RBI-single being the big hit to post the final 6-3 score.
Click here for recaps of this game
La Mirada, CA
Caleb Bly (Oklahoma Baptist) notched eleven strikeouts and his team’s offense hit five doubles and a triple as the Southern California Catch beat the Academy Barons 8-4 today at Biola University. Bly collected his eleven strikeouts over seven innings of work, striking out the side twice and, at one point, striking out eight of nine outs recorded. His only blemish came in the fourth inning, ironically one of the two innings he struck out the side. In that inning, Trent Anderson (CSU Bakersfield) led off with a single and scored on a Daniel Harris (Eastern Kentucky) RBI-double and, after Bly struck out a hitter for the first out of the inning, RJ Bates (San Bernardino) singled home Harris before Bly struck out the next two. Bly would strike out one more batter in each of the next three innings before turning the pitching duties over to Tyler Mckee, who pitched the eighth, and Connor Mushinski (Weatherford), who struck out three in a scoreless ninth to close out the Catch win. Offensively, the Catch relied on extra base hits to generate their eight runs. Hill Alexander (Dallas Baptist) tripled home a run in the first inning, Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) doubled and scored the first of two Catch runs in the third, and Kristian Franklin (Grambling St), Jake Boone (Princeton) and Jacob Rogers (UNLV) all hit two-out RBI-doubles to generated four runs in the fifth, one of which was a lead-off double by Omar Ortiz (Cochise College). Eight of the nine batters in the lineup for the Catch collected hits today with Deylen Miley (Tiffin) collecting a game-high three. Anderson and Harris each recorded multiple hit games for the Barons.
June 21, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
Jordan Chriss (Columbia) struck out seven batters over four innings, Jay Charleston (Tennessee) had three hits and Matt Anderson (Georgia Southern) hit a big, two-out two-run double to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 6-2 win over the Academy Barons tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Chriss started strong, striking out the first three batters of the game and, after surrendering a Joseph Argumedo (Lynn) solo home run and a double by Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) to lead off the second inning, he finished strong as well, retiring the next nine batters he faced in order, including a hit batsmen who was erased from the bases on a double-play. Argumedo’s home run, which pulled the Barons even 1-1 after Charleston singled and scored in the first inning to give the Blues the early lead, was the only run the Academy would generate until the eighth inning when Desmond Gates (West LA JC) singled to lead off the inning and went station-to-station around the bases on three passed balls to score. It was too little too late as the Blues had built a comfortable lead by then. Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) doubled and scored in the second inning, a Charleston RBI-grounder and Anderson’s two-run double plated three in the fourth and Sands scored for the third time on a Noah Taylor (Cal Poly) double in the sixth to highlight the Blues offense. Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) retired six of the seven batters he faced in relief of Chriss, Gabe Constantine got out of a one out bases-loaded situation without giving up a run in the seventh but was on the mound when Gates scored in the eighth, and Josh Andrews (Grand Canyon) struck two in a scoreless ninth to secure the win for San Luis. Kyle Salley (Duke) struck out four over four innings but allowed five runs on four hits and four walks to suffer the loss.
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere around the CCL today:
La Mirada, CA
Kameron Guangorena (Cal St Fullerton) hit a two-run home run, Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma State) added a solo shot and the Santa Barbara Foresters rode a 17-hit offensive attack and scored nine runs in the final three innings to break open a 4-2 game on the way to defeating the Southern California Catch 13-2 today at Biola Universty. It was the Foresters ninth straight win to open the CCL season and the second in as many nights against the Catch. All ten batters the Foresters put in the lineup today collected hits including Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith), the league’s leading hitter so far this season, who maintained his .500 average with three hits in six at bats, and Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma), who matched Allen with a game-high three hits. Trailing after Anj Bourgeois (Biola) hit a two-out RBI-single to drive in Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) in the first inning for a Catch 1-0 lead, Santa Barbara answered in their next at bat and took the lead for good when Chase Illig (West Virginia) doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a Easton Murrell (Arkansas) RBI-single and, after Hardman’s first single of the game, Murrell scored the go-ahead run on a Guangorena sacrifice fly. After Hardman and Allen hits paved the way for two more Foresters runs in the fourth inning, the Catch got their second run in the fifth when Hill Alexander (Dallas Baptist) hit a lead-off home run to make the score 4-2. Then, starting in the seventh inning, the Foresters offense heated up. Neustifter and Guangorena hit their home runs in the seventh to generate three runs, Parker Upton (Creighton) hit an RBI-triple and scored on a wild pitch to generate two in the eighth, and four consecutive singles and a walk generated four more in the ninth. Michael Hobbs (St. Mary’s) started on the mound for Santa Barbara, pitching five innings with three strikeouts and no walks allowed before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. Matt Hartman, who surrendered Alexander’s home run, struck out the next three batters he faced, and Brad Demco (Sam Houston State), James Notary (TCU) and Garrett Crochet (Tennessee) each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the Santa Barbara win.
Click here for recaps of this game
*The Orange County-Healdsburg series scheduled today and tomorrow in Healdsburg was cancelled after the bus scheduled to transport the Riptide team had a major accident on the way to picking up the team. No passengers were on the bus at the time of the accident but the driver was hospitalized and one of Orange County’s busiest freeways was shut down as a result of the accident. Alternative transportation for the visiting team could not be arranged and the CCL has ruled the cancelled games will not result in a forfeit or penalty. The two teams are attempting to find available dates in their schedules to make up as many of the three games cancelled as possible.
June 19, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
The San Luis Obispo Blues batted around in two innings, scoring eight runs in the first inning and six times in the eighth en route to beating the Academy Barons 14-5 tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Five Barons errors combined with four singles and an RBI-double by Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) resulted in the first-inning run around the bases, and five walks, a hit batsmen and a pair of two-run singles by Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) and Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) led to the eighth inning outburst. While the score was decidedly lopsided, the two offenses were fairly even. San Luis Obispo hitters totaled twelve hits while the Barons came up with eleven. The big difference was the shut-down ability of the Blues pitchers. The Barons put runners on bases via hits in eight of the nine innings tonight but ended up leaving eleven runners on base. Blues starting pitcher Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) scattered four hits over four innings of work, striking out five, before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen, highlighted by a two strikeout scoreless ninth inning appearance by Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist).
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere around the CCL today:
Pasadena, CA
Aaron Simpson (Ball State) had three singles and two runs scored, including scoring the go-ahead run from first base in the seventh inning on a Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) two-out RBI double to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 3-2 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Riptide had been chasing down an early 2-0 deficit for most of the game after Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) drove in a pair of runs with a one-out RBI-double in the first inning for the Saints. Orange County got on the board in the second inning when Jake Pries (UCLA) doubled to lead off the inning, stole third base and scored on an error to make the score 2-1. For the next three innings Saints starting pitcher Colin King (Regis) would allow only two batters to reach bases, both via singles, one of which was erased on a double-play, before leaving the game with the Saints in the lead. The pitching and defense from the other dugout was just as stingy, however. The Riptide sent eight different pitchers to the mound tonight and, besides the two first inning runs allowed, stranded eight Saints baserunners without giving up a run over the final eight innings, including picking two baserunners off third on throws from Riptide catcher Chase Sebby (Ball State). Orange County got the equalizing run in the sixth inning when Simpson led off with a single, advanced station-to-station on a walk and a Pries single before scoring with two outs on an error to tie the score 2-2. Simpson started things again in the seventh inning, collecting his third hit with two outs before scoring the go-ahead run on Bandy’s double. Williams, who also singled in third inning and doubled in the fifth, matched Simpson with a game-high three hits.
Click here for recaps of this game
Thousand Oaks, CA
The Santa Barbara Foresters withstood a late-inning charge by the Conejo Oaks to win their seventh game without a loss this season, beating the Oaks 6-5 today at Sparky Anderson Field. With Santa Barbara leading 6-1 with six outs to get, the Oaks scored once in the eighth inning when Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) led off with a double, his game-high fourth hit, and who would later score on a wild pitch. The Oaks then rallied for three more runs in the ninth, sending eight batters to the plate and stranding two aboard before Garrett Crochet (Tennessee), who was brought into pitch for the final three outs, struck out his third batter of the inning to close out the win for Santa Barbara. Bryce Vitt‘s bases-loaded two-run single and an RBI-single by Bart West (USC), both with two outs, were the big hits for the Oaks in the rally that just fell short. Santa Barbara, after scoring an unearned run in the second inning, opened up their lead with a pair of runs on three singles in the fourth, and three more hits, including an RBI-double by Andrew Wiss (Air Force) and a run-scoring single by Brandon Zaragoza (Oklahoma), which plated three more runs in the fifth. Foresters starting pitcher Conner Woods (UNLV) threw three scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to James Notary (TCU) who picked up the win in relief, striking out four batters over three innings of work. Five Conejo pitchers combined to strikeout twelve, with starter Brandon Ponticelli (Kansas) being saddled with the loss.
June 16, 2018
Santa Barbara, CA
Six pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter, facing only four batters over the minimum for a perfect game, as the Santa Barbara Foresters blanked the San Luis Obispo Blues 5-0 tonight at Pershing Park. Caleb Sloan (TCU) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and threw the first four no-hit innings, striking out eight and allowing three walks, one of which was erased on a ground ball double play. Garrett Crochet (Tennessee), Conner Woods (UNLV), Jackson Wolf (West Virginia), James Notary (TCU) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) then each took their turn, each throwing a hitless inning. As a staff, the Foresters pitchers recorded a combined 14 strikeouts and only one runner, Brandon Frazier (Georgia Gwinnett) reached as far as second base having walked and advanced on a passed ball. The Santa Barbara hitters did little more than the San Luis offense through the first four innings but, in the fifth, they got all the runs they would need when Utah Jones (North Greenville) hit a two-run home run, driving in Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) who had walked to lead off the inning. The Foresters scored three more times in the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a hit batsmen in front of a Cash two-run single and a Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma State) RBI-double. Cole Tucker started on the mound for the Blues and kept pace with Sloan in scoreless innings until Jones’ home run in the fifth inning saddled him with the loss.
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere around the CCL today:
Compton, CA
Four pitchers combined to throw a shutout and Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) came through with a clutch two-out single with the bases loaded to drive in the only runs of the game as the Academy Barons beat the Arroyo Seco Saints 2-0 tonight at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb) started on the mound for the Barons, scattering six hits and two walks over four-plus innings while striking out four. Gutierrez’ outing was anything but smooth sailing. He faced situations with runners in scoring position in three innings and, when the Saints loaded the bases against him with one out in the fifth inning via a John Thomas (USC) single and two walks, Gutierrez turned the pitching duties over to Kyle Salley (Duke) who induced an inning-ending ground ball double-play. Salley then struck out the side in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless seventh before Joshua Stephens (Beaufort) and Ryan Hare (UNLV) each retired the side in order for one inning to secure the Barons win. Blake Beers (Michigan), the starting pitcher for Arroyo Seco tonight, was perfect through three innings before Trent Anderson (CSU Bakersfield) opened the fourth inning with a lead-off double. Two walks and two outs later Wilson, who would also triple later in the game, came up with the bases loaded and delivered what would turn out to be the game-winning hit. Wilson, Thomas and Alex LeForestier (Pacific) had two hits apiece and were the only players to record multiple-hit games.
Click here for recaps of this game
Thousand Oaks, CA
The game between the Conejo Oaks and the Southern California Catch today was suspended due to darkness after nine innings with the score tied 4-4. Stats for this game will be reported when the game is resumed at a later date to be determined.
June 14, 2018
Fullerton, CA
Michael Hobbs (St. Mary’s) threw five scoreless inning, John Jensen (UC Irvine) homered for the second night in a row and Chase Illig (West Virginia) homered for the second time in three games as the Santa Barbara Foresters overwhelmed the Orange County Riptide 13-0 today at Fullerton College. Hobbs started on the mound and struck out six over his five innings of work, allowing only two singles by Bradley Jekich (Pacific) and Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), the first two batters he faced in the game. He then retired the next 15 batters in order, one of which reached base on a dropped third strike, before handing the pitching duties off to the Foresters bullpen who were almost as dominant and combined with Hobbs for a staff five-hit shutout with only one walk allowed. Meanwhile, the Foresters offense amassed 15 hits and scored double-digit runs for the third time in their four league games thus far in the season. Jensen, who hit a grand-slam and had five RBI in last night’s Foresters 9-3 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints in Pasadena, hit a two-out two-run home run to highlight Santa Barbara’s six-run third inning tonight that was generated by five consecutive two-out hits. Illig, who homered in Pasadena two nights previously, hit a solo version today in the seventh inning when the game was well in hand, making the score 10-0. Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) had three hits and two RBI, and Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith) reached safely in each of his four plate appearances, including hitting a triple and a run-scoring single to also lead the Foresters attack. Curry, with three singles, led the Riptide offense and was their only player with a multiple hit game. The four Santa Barbara relief pitchers, Bailey Reid (Westmont College), Miles Sandum, Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) each threw one scoreless inning today, with Wolf leading by striking out the side in the eighth inning and Wallace striking out two in the ninth.
June 12, 2018
Pasadena, CA
Chase Illig (West Virginia) had three hits, including a three-run home run, and the Santa Barbara Foresters scored ten runs in the first three innings en route to beating the Arroyo Seco Saints 11-7 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Illig reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances tonight, adding a double and a single to go along with his home run, in driving in a total of four runs for the game. As a team the Foresters collected 14 hits and, two other players, Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith) and Luke Ritter (Wichita St) joined Illig with a game-high three hits. Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) and Luke Coffey (Westmont College) had back-to-back run-scoring singles to highlight a four-run first inning for Santa Barbara, Illig’s home run was the big hit in the second inning, and John Jensen (UC Irvine) and Utah Jones (North Greenville) each drove in runs in the third to put the Foresters up 10-0. Arroyo Seco rallied, however, and got back into the game with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Saints took advantage of three walks and an error in the inning and added RBI-singles by John Thomas (USC) and Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) to generate the six runs. Brad Demco (Sam Houston State), the third pitcher to appear for Santa Barbara, came into the game with one out in the third inning to shut down the rally, and pitched two more scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, to pick up the win. Conner Woods (UNLV), Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) allowed only one hit combined over the final four innings to secure the win for Santa Barbara. Arroyo Seco utilized four pitchers in the game with JD Russomano (Corban) having the best outing, notching four strikeouts in two scoreless innings.
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Fullerton, CA
Home runs by Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), Daniel Hawkins (Sonoma State) and Thomas Delgadilo highlighted a 16-hit attack as the Orange County Riptide beat the Academy Barons today at Fullerton College. Curry hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, on the heels of a lead-off double by Bradley Jekich (Pacific) to open the scoring. The Riptide held on to the 2-0 lead until the fourth inning as starting pitcher Hayden Pearce (Pacific) retired the first eleven Barons’ hitters he faced before a runner reached base on an error with two outs. The Barons took advantage of the miscue when, after the next batter was hit by a pitch, Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) hit a three-run home run to give the Academy a 3-2 lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as Orange County scored two times in the bottom of the inning on a pair of RBI-doubles by Josh Nicoloff (Columbia) and Paul Gomez (Missouri) to make the score 4-3. The Barons tied the score in the fifth inning on a two-out, RBI-single by Trent Anderson (Cal St Bakersfield), and the Riptide took the lead again in the sixth on an RBI-single by Curry. Orange County finally took control of the game when Hawkins’ solo home run led off the seventh inning and was followed three batters later by Delgadilo’s three-run version, which drove in Nicoloff, who had walked, and Gomez, who had doubled for the second time. Jekich, Curry, Delgadilo and Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) each had a game-high three hits, Adam Cendejas (two singles) was the only Barons player to have a multiple-hit game, while Erik Gutierrez’ (Lipscomb) four strikeouts in two innings of relief highlighted the Academy’s pitching.
June 9, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
Dane Tofteland (Indiana State) walked with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, stole second base and scored on a single by Cole Brodnansky, his third consecutive single in the game, to ruin a late-inning comeback as the Healdsburg Prune Packers beat the San Luis Obispo Blues 8-7 today at Sinsheimer Park. Trailing 7-4 heading into their half of the eighth inning, the Blues got consecutive singles by Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) and Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) to get things started. An error, three walks and two pitching changes later, San Luis had scored three times and tied the score 7-7. Chrit Rudkin (Montevallo), who was the third Healdsburg pitcher inserted into the game in the eighth inning, got the final out in the eighth and then retired three in a row in the ninth, all on groundouts and an outing-total of ten pitches to earn the win. Chase Gardner (UConn), last year’s CCL Pitcher of the Year, started on the mound for Healdsburg, recording four strikeouts in three-plus innings, before turning pitching duties over to Henrik Reinertsen (Pacific), who matched Gardner’s strikeout and innings pitched totals. Both pitchers were vulnerable for one inning, however, as Gardner got saddled with three runs earned in the fourth inning, surrendering back-to-back doubles by Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) and Lipcius to lead off the inning, a walk and getting two fly ball outs before being replaced by Reinertsen. Jay Charleston (Tennessee) welcomed Reinertsen to the game with a single and Auston Chastain (Fresno St) followed with a two-run double. The four-run fourth inning put the Blues back in the game after trailing 5-0 as the Packers scored five times in the second inning on four singles, a hit batsmen, a fielder’s choice and one walk. Healdsburg scored twice more in the sixth inning on an RBI-double by Sam Wezniak (Cal) and a run-scoring groundout to make the score 7-4, setting up the Blues’ eighth inning three-run rally and Brodnansky’s game-winning hit. Healdsburg’s Kevin Sandri (Pacific) finished with a game-high three hits.
Click here for recaps of this game
Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Fullerton, CA
Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) went four-for-five with three RBI, Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) had a pair of doubles, a single and two RBI and four pitchers combined to throw a two-hit shutout as the Orange County Riptide blanked the Southern California Catch 9-0 today at Fullerton College. Colin Townsend (St. Louis), Doug Magee, Corey Dawson (Westmont College) and Zach Bromstead (Mt. SAC) allowed only two singles, both by Kristian Franklin (Grambling St), and only allowed a total of seven baserunners while striking out a combined four batters. The Riptide jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sojka drove in Curry, who had led off the inning with his first double, with a two-out RBI-single. Orange County took advantage of a pair of Catch errors to score two times in the third inning, and twice more in the fourth inning when Sojka drove in two more with a two-out single. The Riptide put the game out of reach by scoring four runs in the seventh inning, twice scoring on a Sojka double, and once when Thomas Delgadilo drove in Sojka with a double of his own.
Click here for recaps of this game
Compton, CA
Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) hit an two-out, RBI-single in the top of the eleventh inning to drive in Tanner Wright (Cal Lutheran), who had led off the inning with a bunt single, with the go-ahead run, and John Vergara struck out the side in the bottom of the inning as the Conejo Oaks beat the Academy Barons today 8-7 at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Vergara, who entered the game to pitch in the eleventh, earned the save while Angus Denton (Arkansas) picked up the win by tossing three scoreless innings, striking out three, after entering the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, just after Wright had tied the score at 7-7 with an RBI-double, one of his three hits on the game. Conejo had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Ramon Gomez (Oxnard College) in the first inning, but that only lasted until the third inning when Joshua Banuelos (Peru St) drove in the Barons first run with an RBI-single to tie the score. Both teams then matched four-run rallies in the fourth inning. A two-out, two-run home run by Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) was the big hit for the Oaks, a two-out double by Banuelos, who also had a game-high three hits, and a two-out, two-run single by Logan Pollack (Michigan) were the big hits for the Barons. The Academy took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) and Roosevelt Barnes (Morehouse College) both singled and scored, and the Oaks answered with one run in the top of the sixth when Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) singled and scored to set up Wright’s double in the eighth to send the game into extra innings. Kyle Salley (Duke) had four strikeouts in three innings of relief for Barons starting pitcher Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills) who went four innings, before turning pitching duties over to Ryan Hare (UNLV) who pitched the final four innings and was pinned with the loss.
June 7, 2018
Pasadena, CA
The Arroyo Seco Saints strung together four singles and took advantage of two errors to break out of a 2-2 tie game and scored four times in the seventh inning en route to a 6-2 win over the Orange County Riptide tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Brennan McKenzie (Cal Poly Pomona) and Tristan Peterson hit consecutive singles to start the seventh inning, and when Jacob Jenkins (MidAm Nazarene) laid down a bunt to sacrifice both runners into scoring position, an error on the play allowed McKenzie to score the go ahead run. Two more singles, both for RBI, by Bennett McCaskill (Dartmouth) and John Thomas (USC) and a another error plated three more runs to give the Saints their winning margin. Joey Steele (USF), who had come in to pitch for the Saints in the top of the seventh and struck out three straight, had two more strikeouts in the eighth inning to earn the win before handing the pitching duties off to Reed Osborn (Howard JC) who closed out the ninth inning.
Josh Nicoloff (Columbia) hit a solo home run in third inning to give Orange County a 1-0 lead, but that was brief as Arroyo Seco answered in the bottom of the inning when Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) singled, advanced to third on an error and scored on an infield grounder. The Riptide took the lead again in the sixth inning when Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) doubled and scored on a single by Daniel Zimmerman (Michigan), but again it was a short-lived lead, as the Saints answered right back in the bottom half when Thomas hit a lead-off double and scored on a Colin Shepherd (Miami-Ohio) single to tie the score 2-2. Thomas finished with a game-high three hits.
June 5, 2018
Thousand Oaks, CA
With the score 4-4, Jay Charleston (Tennessee) tripled to lead off the ninth inning and scored the game winning run on an infield grounder to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 5-4 win over the Conejo Oaks in the opening game of the 2018 CCL season at Sparky Anderson Field. The triple was Charleston’s third hit of the game, a total matched by his teammate from Tennessee, Luc Lipcius, who notched three singles to share game-high honors. San Luis Obispo jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning after loading the bases with no outs, getting RBI-singles from Tanner Thompson and Charleston and a third run on a bases-loaded walk. The Blues added a run in the fourth inning when Thompson reached on an error and would eventually score on a passed ball. The Oaks answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth when Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) hit a two-out double and scored on an error, and Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) added an RBI-single, and Conejo then tied the score at 4-4 in the seventh inning on a two-out, two-run single by Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley). Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) started on the mound for the Blues, pitching five innings with five strikeouts before turning the ball over to the bullpen. TJ Mullins (Grayson) picked up the win with a scoreless ninth inning of work, getting a groundball double-play to secure the win.