June 28, 2019
San Luis Obispo, CA

Christian Scott (Tennessee) and Anthony Forte (Richmond) hit back-to-back RBI-doubles to erase a two-run deficit in the seventh inning, and Trevor Beer (UC Santa Barbara) pitched the last four innings scoreless to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 5-4 victory over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Trailing 4-2 heading into the seventh inning, Scott’s and Forte’s doubles were setup by a leadoff walk and a one-out single by Marco Martinez (Pasadena CC). Scott’s double plated one Saints run and put runners on second and third base, both of whom Forte drove in two pitches later to give Arroyo Seco the lead for the first time in the game. Beer, who entered the game to pitch to begin the sixth inning in relief of starter Eli Riechmann (Blinn), made the lead stick, pitching around a two-out double in the seventh inning by striking out the next batter, retiring the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts, and pitching around a two-out single in the ninth to pick up the win. The Blues jumped out to the early lead against Riechmann, scoring twice in their first at bat when their first two batters reached base via a single and a walk and, after one out was recorded, Brett Harris (Gonzaga) hit a two-run double. Riechmann struck out two in a one-two-three second inning, struck out two more in a scoreless third and the Arroyo Seco offense got on the board in the top of the fourth on a run-producing groundout before the Blues struck again. Ryan McCarty drove in Reuben Mercado (San Jose St) who had led off the fourth with a single in an inning Riechmann struck out two, and San Luis scored again the fifth on a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-1. Mitchell Scott (Cal), who started on the mound for the Blues and matched Riechmann with six strikeouts, faced one over the minimum until the Saints scored their first run in the fourth and, after retiring the side in order in the fifth, Scott allowed Arroyo Seco’s second run when Forte hit the first of his two doubles in the game to leadoff the sixth and scored on a Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) RBI-single that made the score 4-2. Kai Janowicz (UC Davis) relieved Scott to start the seventh and suffered the loss, allowing three runs on four hits over two innings of work before Evan Ingram (Hendrix) struck out three of the four batters he faced to finish on the mound for the Blues. Cowley led all hitters in the game, recording a game-high three hits.

Click here for recaps of these games

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Compton, CA

Noah Mattera (UNLV), Chris Torres (Moorpark JC) and Clay Rickerman (Cal Lutheran) combined to pitch four and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief, and Nico Lima (Oxnard JC) tripled and scored four runs to lead the Conejo Oaks to an 8-7 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Mattera was the first reliever into the game for the Oaks, entering in the game with one out in the fifth inning in the middle of a Barons rally. At this point the Academy had already scored three times in the inning, getting their first five batters on base and scoring on a two-run triple by Basiel Williams Jr. (Jones JC) and an RBI-single by Channy Ortiz (Grand Canyon). Mattera, who was appearing in relief of Oaks starting pitcher Eric Ma (Whitman College), gave up a two-run single to the first batter he faced, Jaylen Heard (Heartland) that gave the Barons a 6-5 lead, but retired two of the next three batters, the last via strikeout, to limit the damage. After the Oaks tied the score in the top of the sixth inning when Lima reached on an error, advanced to third on a Jacob Castro (UC Irvine) single and scored on an RBI-groundout, Mattera struck out the first batter in the bottom half of inning and, after issuing a walk, was replaced by Torres who retired two batters to finish the sixth, and then Torres retired three of four batters to pitch a scoreless seventh. Rickerman entered the game to start the bottom of the eighth inning with the lead after Lima again got on base to start the inning, this time after being hit by a pitch, stole second base, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored with two outs on a wild pitch to make the score 8-7. Rickerman then stranded two runners in the eighth inning and pitched around a two-out error in the ninth to throw two scoreless innings and pick up the win. Conejo had jumped out to an early lead in tonight’s game, scoring three runs in the first inning when their first seven batters reached base safely and RBI-singles by Castro and Gabe Baldovino (Ventura JC) and a fielder’s choice plated their runs. The Oaks added their fourth run in the third inning when Lima hit his triple and scored on a Castro sacrifice fly, and their fifth in the fifth when a walk, an error and a wild pitch gave them a 5-1 lead. The Barons scored their first run after Ma had held them scoreless for the first three innings, retiring ten of the twelve batters he faced until Kyle Freeman (Pitzer) hit a one-out single in the fourth and scored on a Kendall Pettis (Oklahoma) two-out single. Noel Soto (Long Beach CC) was the starting pitcher for the Academy, pitching three innings and allowing four runs on six hits before being relieved by David Appleby (Michigan) who allowed two runs on two hits in two innings of work. Trevor Sutt (Long Beach CC) struck out four over two scoreless innings and JP Massey (Minnesota) struck out three while pitching the eighth and ninth innings, suffering the loss without surrendering a hit. The Oaks’ Justin Ammons (Tennessee) singled three times to finish with a game-high three hits.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 27, 2019
Santa Barbara, CA

Christian Franklin (Arkansas) hit a leadoff home run in the first inning, Conor McKenna (Oklahoma) hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and Ryan Bergert (West Virginia) and four relievers combined to throw a five-hit shutout to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to an 8-0 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Pershing Park. Franklin’s home run, which followed a two-strikeout scoreless top of the first inning turned in by Bergert, gave Santa Barbara all the run production they would need. Bergert went four innings in his start and allowed only three baserunners, two singles by Hunter Swift (Oral Roberts) and a walk, while striking out six. By the time Elijah Trest (Arkansas) relieved Bergert to start the fifth inning, the Foresters had increased their lead by three, scoring once in the third inning on an RBI-triple by Blake Hall (Oral Roberts) and twice in the fourth on McKenna’s home run. Trest pitched around a two-out single by Dane Stankiewicz (Grand Canyon) to hold the Blues scoreless through five, then Caden Monke (Arkansas) and Jacob Burton (Arkansas) each pitched a scoreless inning before Brock Helverson (West Virginia) pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to close out the win. The Foresters blew the game open with a four-run sixth inning, scoring on a run-producing groundout, a two-run single by Ryan Cash (Oral Roberts) and an RBI-single by Franklin. Noah Huerta (Texas Tech) started on the mound for San Luis and suffered the loss, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out five in his four-inning start. Gabe Constantine (Rio Grande Valley) relieved Huerta to start the fifth inning and allowed four runs on five hits before Brett Super (Pitzer) pitched a one-two-three seventh with one strikeout and Connor Wilford pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.

Click here for recaps of these games

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Fairfield, CA

Eric Robles (Sterling College) singled with one out in the tenth inning, advanced to third base when the next two batters reached base via a hit batter and a walk, and scored the winning run when James Harwell (Sonoma St) hit a walk-off single to give the Solano Mudcats an 8-7 win over the San Francisco Seals today at Vanden High. Harwell’s game-winning single, his third of the game and his second RBI, came after the two teams each scored once on sacrifice flyballs in the ninth inning to send the game into extras. The Seals had the lead for most of the game today, scoring once in the second inning when Donny Bendo hit a leadoff home run and twice in the third on a two-run double by Robert Lujan (Cal St East Bay) before Solano got on the board in their half of the third, scoring once on a sacrifice fly. San Francisco increased their lead in their next at bat, scoring twice in the third when Nate Petrov (Vanguard) hit a two-run triple to make the score 5-1. William Moscato (Macalester) started on the mound for the Seals, pitching five innings and allowing one run on three hits while striking out three. As soon as Moscato left the game, however, the Mudcats rallied. Solano scored four runs on two walks and six singles, including RBI-hits by Jack Pridy (Sonoma St), Nick Peifer (Cal Poly Pomona) and a two-run single by Jason Pridy (Solano JC), to tie the score 5-5. Nate Freeman (UC Davis), the third Solano pitcher of the game, pitched around a two-out single and error, to pitch a scoreless seventh inning by striking out three, before the Mudcats took their first lead of the game in their half of the inning when Jack Pridy walked with one out and scored from first base on a double by Justin Banks (Coppin St). Diego Ramirez (Occidental) relieved Freeman to start the eighth and surrendered the first tying run to score like the second, on a sacrifice fly. Cody Switzer (Napa Valley JC) was the starting pitcher tonight for Solano, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out six in four innings of work before turning the pitching duties over to Nik Dodson who pitched two scoreless and hitless innings. Peyton Barker (Alabama A&M) was the first reliever in for Moscato and the Seals and allowed six runs on eight hits over four innings before being relieved by Miles Minier who pitched the fateful tenth inning and suffered the loss.

Click here for recaps of this game

Pasadena, CA

Marco Martinez (Pasadena CC) hit a two-run double and Andy Garriola (Old Dominion) hit a two-run home run to break a tie ballgame in the bottom of the eighth inning and lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 10-6 win over the Academy Barons tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The two go-ahead hits in the eighth inning were setup when the leadoff batter reached on an error, the next batter walked and a sacrifice moved them both into scoring position. The double was Martinez’ third hit and third RBI of the game and was immediately followed by the home run by Garriola who was appearing as a pinch hitter for his only at bat of the game. Alex Cornwell (USC), who entered the game to pitch for the Saints with one out in the top of the eighth inning after the Barons scored once on two walks and a pair of wild pitches, struck out the first batter he faced, walked one to load the bases and got a groundball out to preserve the tie in the eighth, then pitched around a leadoff walk and a two-out single to strand two more runners on base in the ninth inning by striking out three to earn the win. Colin King (Regis) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco tonight, working five innings and allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out four. King left the game with a comfortable 6-1 lead after the Saints scored twice in their first at bat on a run-producing groundout and a Martinez RBI-single, three times in the third inning when David Reyna (Ark-Monticello) hit a double to lead off the inning and scored on a Evan Russell (Tennessee) RBI-single, and two more singles, a bases loaded hit batter and a run-producing double-play scored the other two, and once in the fourth on a Reyna RBI-single. When King left the game, however, the Barons rallied. Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning off of Jeremy Taylor (Cal Poly Pomona) to make the score 6-4, and after Taylor walked two batters with one out in the seventh and was relieved by Zach Griggs (UTSA), Basiel Williams Jr. (Jones JC) hit an RBI-single that got the Academy within one. Griggs struck out the last two batters he faced in the seventh inning to limit the damage but after surrendering three walks and one run in the eighth, turned the pitching duties over to Cornwell. Yuji Sakane (East LA JC) was the starting pitcher tonight for the Academy and allowed five runs on five hits over three innings before turning the pitching duties over to AJ Stinson II (Lawson State JC) who also went three innings, allowing one run on four hits, and Larry Barabino III (Southern), who pitched the last two innings, allowing four runs on four hits and suffering the loss.

Click here for recaps of this game

Healdsburg, CA

Ian Villers (Cal) struck out eight in a five-inning start, Randy Polonia (UConn) struck out three in two hitless innings, and Spencer Hynes (Houston) and Devin Kirby each pitched a scoreless inning to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 4-1 win over the Lincoln Potters tonight at Recreation Park. Villers retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced tonight, allowing only a two-out single to Matt Lopez in the first inning and a two-out walk in the fourth. He received all the run support the Packers would need in the bottom of the first inning when Kevin Sandri (Pacific) and Justin Dicochea (Santa Clara) led off the inning with consecutive singles and scored on a one-out RBI-single by Cam Blake (Texas A&M) and a sacrifice fly. Villers carried that lead all the way until the fifth inning when three consecutive Lincoln singles by Jordan Berry (Cochise JC), Jake Plecas (Utah Valley) and Thomas Greely (Long Beach St) and an error allowed the Potters only run to score unearned. Villers struck out the last three batters he faced in the inning to limit the damage and then turned the pitching duties over to the Healdsburg bullpen. Jakob Frederick (San Joaquin JC) was the starting pitcher tonight for Lincoln and pitched four scoreless innings with two hits allowed after giving up the first two runs in the first inning. Grant Woodside relieved Frederick to start the sixth inning and allowed one run in that inning when Cole Brodnansky (UConn) tripled and scored on a run-producing groundout, and one in the seventh when Connor Mack (Cal), who hit the sacrifice fly in the first inning for his first RBI, hit an RBI-single to plate the Packers fourth run. Tyler Mead (Biola) pitched around a single in the eighth to finish with a scoreless inning in relief of Woodside.

Click here for recaps of this game

Thousand Oaks, CA
Today’s game between the Orange County Riptide and the Conejo Oaks was suspended due to darkness in the ninth inning with the Riptide leading 10-6. The game will be resumed prior to the previously scheduled meeting between the teams July 13, at which point the recap and stats will be posted to the CCL website.

June 26, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA

Jacob Flores (San Diego St) pitched six innings of no-hit baseball, striking out nine, and he Charlie Bielenson (Brown) and Clay Rickerman (Cal Lutheran) combined to shutout the San Luis Obispo Blues 2-0 today at Sparky Anderson Field. Flores struck out seven of the Blues hitters the first time he faced them today, retired the first twelve he faced in order and 18 of 20 overall. The only blemishes on his six-inning performance were walks issued in the fifth and sixth innings. Bielsenson started the seventh inning for the Oaks and picked up where Flores left off, retiring the side in order in the seventh before surrendering the Blues first hit, a single by Nick Hansen (Grand Canyon) to lead off the eighth. Hansen was thrown out trying to steal second base and Bielenson retired the next two batters he faced to preserve the shutout through eight innings, and Rickerman did the same in the ninth, pitching around a two-out single by Hunter Swift (Oral Roberts) by striking out the last batter to close out the win for Conejo. Andrew Alvarez (Cal Poly) was the starting pitcher tonight for San Luis and had a very strong pitching performance as well. At one point between the second and fifth innings, Alvarez retired twelve straight and, overall, struck out five in five and a third innings of work. Alvarez wasn’t scored upon until the sixth inning when Justin Ammons (Tennessee) led the inning off with a double, advanced when Tyler Odekirk (Cal St LA) bunted for a single and an error on the play allowed Ammons to score and Odekirk to end up at third base. Odekirk then scored on a passed ball to give the Oaks a 2-0 lead. Alvarez struck out the last batter he faced in the sixth and then handed the ball to Pierson Ohl (Grand Canyon), who pitched the last two and two-thirds innings scoreless with a strikeout and one hit allowed. The only other hits in the game were a two-out triple by Nico Lima (Oxnard JC) in the first inning and a one-out single by Ryne Yamashiro (Cal Lutheran) in the seventh.

Before today’s regularly scheduled game, the Oaks and Blues completed yesterday’s game that was suspended after nine innings due to darkness with the score 5-5. It took three innings for the game to be decided and it ended in the twelfth when Taison Corio (Delta JC) led off with a single, advanced to second base on fielding error that put two runners aboard, advanced to third base on a double-steal, and scored on a dropped third strike when the out was recorded at first. Derek True (Cal Poly), who pitched all three innings of this game for San Luis, escaped trouble in the tenth inning when his three walks loaded the bases with one out by striking out one and getting the next batter to groundout. He stranded two more runners on base in a scoreless eleventh and then retired the side in order in the twelfth to pick up the win. Angus Denton (Arkansas) started the extra-innings contest for the Oaks and pitched around three singles in two scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to Noah Mattera (UNLV) who allowed one unearned run on one hit while striking out two to suffer the loss. The Blues led yesterday’s game all the way until the last inning, having scored once in their first at bat on a Corio RBI-single, twice in the fourth inning on two-out RBI-hits by Brady Lindsly (Oklahoma) and Dylan Beavers (Cal) and twice in the ninth inning on a Julian Bury (Columbia) RBI-single. During this time, the Oaks’ batters had gone down in order in all eight previous innings at the hands of Braedon Gowdy, Tyler Chivens and Kyle Richardson (Texas A&M), who allowed a combined three baserunners over the first eight innings, all of whom reached via singles and all of whom were erased on the bases as part of a double-play or a caught stealing. But in the ninth inning against the fourth Blues pitcher Brett Super (Pitzer), the Oaks rallied for five runs on five hits, including RBI-doubles by Ammons and Lima and an RBI-singles Trent McKinney and Jacob Castro (UC Irvine) to tie the score 5-5 and send it for completion today.

Click here for recaps of these games

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Compton, CA

The Santa Barbara Foresters took advantage of three walks and a two-run double by Jacob Katzfey (Wichita St) to score four runs in the fourth inning and went on to beat the Academy Barons 5-4 tonight at the MLB Youth Academy despite being outhit 12-3. The four-run rally erased a 3-1 Barons lead and included two of the Foresters three hits in the game. Two walks to leadoff the inning started the rally and, after an Eric Kennedy (Texas) single loaded the bases, another walk forced in a run, Katzfey hit his double and a balk gave Santa Barbara a 5-3 lead. Barons starting pitcher Julian Jackson (Eastern Kentucky) had limited the Foresters up until that point, striking out six over the first four innings, allowing one run when a pair of walks to leadoff the fourth inning put a runner in scoring position and, after Jackson struck out the next two batters, Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt) hit a two-out RBI-single to get Santa Barbara on the board. The Academy took their only lead of the game in their half of that same inning, notching four consecutive two-out hits, including an RBI-double by Trent Anderson and a two-run single by Channy Ortiz (Grand Canyon). That would be the only scoring the Barons had until their last at bat as four Santa Barbara relievers combined to hold the Academy hitters to one run on four hits over the last five innings. Nico O’Donnell (Texas) relieved Santa Barbara starting pitcher Jake Jackson (Nevada) to start the fifth inning and threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Brad Demco struck out the first two batters he faced in the seventh inning and retired the side in order. Hunter Breault (Oregon) pitched around a one-out single by striking out the last two batters he faced in a scoreless eighth, and Connor Woods (UNLV) closed out the win despite allowing a one-out double to Ortiz, his third hit and second double of the game, and an RBI-single by Basiel Williams Jr. (Jones JC) that brought the Barons to within one with the tying run aboard. The game ended when Woods struck out the last batter he faced and Williams, who had advanced into scoring position on an error, was thrown out trying to steal third base. Travis Lavendier (Chico St) pitched the fifth and sixth innings for the Barons, allowing four runs on two hits while striking out three to suffer the loss. Noel Soto (Long Beach JC) pitched the seventh, striking out two and retiring the side in order, and Elijah Pleasants pitched the last two innings scoreless, retiring six of the seven batters he faced, three via strikeout.

Click here for recaps of this game

Irvine, CA

Thomas Luevano (USD) had three hits, including a solo home run, and scored three runs, Andy Garriola (Old Dominion) hit a two-run home run, and Cade Bullinger (Texas St) and Jamie Robertson (Emory) retired the side in order in six of nine innings to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 10-5 win over the Orange County Riptide tonight at Great Park Stadium. Both Luevano’s and Garriola’s home runs came before an out was recorded in the sixth inning and the Saints trailing 3-1. Luevano led off the inning with his home run, Evan Russell (Tennessee) singled and Garriola hit his home run to give the Saints a brief 4-3. The lead was brief because the Riptide, who had scored three times in the fourth inning on a single, a walk, two errors, an RBI-single by Chad Crosbie (Miami) and a run-producing groundout, scored twice more in their half of the sixth on a two-run double by Connor Aoki (Binghamton) to take back the lead 5-4. The Saints answered right back, however, scoring four runs before an out was recorded in the seventh inning on a walk and three singles, including Russell’s second RBI of the game, and two more with two outs after two walks an error and a wild pitch to post the final score. Robertson, who relieved Bullinger to start the seventh inning, held the Orange County hitters in check the rest of the way, retiring the side in order with one strikeout in the seventh, pitching around a hit batsman and a single to pitch a scoreless eighth and striking out the three batters he faced in the ninth inning to close out the Arroyo Seco win. Bullinger, who notched five strikeouts in his six-inning outing, retired the first nine batters he faced in order and, between the innings he allowed the Riptide’s runs, retired the side in order in the fifth inning as well to earn the win. DJ Sutorius (Biola) was the starting pitcher for Orange County tonight and allowed one run on five hits while striking out four before turning the pitching duties over to five Riptide relievers. The only run Sutorius allowed came in the fourth inning when Luevano led off with the first of his game-high three hits, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Russell sacrifice fly.

Click here for recaps of this game

*Note from webmaster: Our website has been experiencing intermittent service. The problem is emanating from our internet service provider who have assured us they have engineers working on the problem. Sorry for the delay in reporting the game recaps, stats and standings. No one is more aggravated than us. We try to stay on top of the league news every night. -CCL

June 25, 2019
Irvine, CA

Connor Aoki (Binghamton) homered and hit an RBI-single in consecutive at bats and Andre Antone (UC Irvine) hit a solo home run, singled and scored the winning run in consecutive at bats as the Orange County Riptide scored five runs in their last two at bats to erase a four-run deficit and beat the Santa Barbara Foresters 5-4 tonight at Great Park Stadium. Stymied for the first six innings by the dominant outing of Foresters starting pitcher Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts), the Riptide rallied for four runs as soon as Coffey left the game. Antone started the comeback right away, leading off the seventh inning with a solo home to get Orange County on the board. The second batter of the inning, Daniel Jung (Notre Dame), singled and then Aoki hit a two-run home run to get the Riptide within one. Joshua Solomon (Columbia) then walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a productive groundout and scored the tying run when Blake Evans (Georgia Southern) singled him in. Marrick Crouse, who entered the game in relief of Sean Higgins (Columbia) to start the seventh inning, retired the side in order in the eighth and, after Antone and Jung again got things stated for the Riptide with one out in their half of the inning by hitting one-out singles, Aoki singled to drive Antone in with what proved to be the winning run. Crouse then pitched around Ross Cadena’s (Wichita State) third single of the game to lead off the ninth inning, stranding Cadena at second base after he advanced on a wild pitch by getting two fly outs and striking out the last batter to close out the win. The Orange County comeback spoiled a masterful pitching performance by Coffey. The righthander struck out nine in his six-inning outing and allowed only three singles, two of whom were erased on the bases in the third inning via a caught-stealing and a line drive double play. Coffey faced the minimum three batters in four of his six innings, struck out the side in the second inning and had two or more strikeouts in four innings. Tyler Booth started on the mound for Orange County and surrendered all four of the Foresters runs in three and two-thirds innings while striking out five and allowing five hits. Cadena got Santa Barbara on the board with an RBI-single in the third inning and, after two walks, a single and two errors pushed another run across in the fourth, Cadena hit a two-out two-run single to give the Foresters a 4-0 lead. Higgins, who surrendered Cadena’s second hit after relieving Booth, retired the next batter he faced to end the fourth inning and went on to strand runners in scoring position for two scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to Crouse, who pitched a scoreless seventh and retired nine of the next ten batters he faced.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Compton, CA

Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) hit a three-run home run, Andy Garriola (Old Dominion) hit a solo home run and Thomas Luevano (USD) hit a ninth inning, two-out, two-run single to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to an 8-6 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Cowley’s home run came in the sixth inning with the Saints trailing 5-1 after the Barons scored three times on three singles in the first inning, once in the second on a Christian Poche (New Orleans) two-out double and once in the third after Logan Pollack (Michigan) hit a leadoff double and eventually scored on a run-producing groundout, and the Saints scored once in the fifth on a Matt Thomas (Harvard) RBI-single. Cowley’s home run all but erased the outstanding pitching performance of Barons’ starting pitcher Brandon Mitchell (New Orleans). Mitchell retired the first eight batters in order, four by strikeouts, and eleven of the first twelve, allowing only one baserunner in his first four innings via a two-out walk in the third. The only blemish to Mitchell’s outing came after allowing his second walk to leadoff the fifth inning. That runner scored after stealing second base and Mitchell struck out his sixth batter when Thomas got his RBI-hit. Drew Atherton (Cal Poly Pomona) was the starting pitcher for the Saints and surrendered all five of the Barons’ runs over two and two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits while striking out five. Race Gardner (Hawaii-Hilo) entered the game to pitch in relief of Atherton with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, retiring the next batter to limit the damage, and went on to retire the side in order in three of the next four innings to finish his performance with four and a third scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Gardner did not figure in the final decision because the Saints only tied the score while he was the pitcher of record when Garriola hit his home run in the seventh to make the score 5-5. It wasn’t until the ninth inning that the Saints took the lead and, again it was Garriola getting things going. Garriola singled to lead off the inning, stole second base, advanced to third on an error and, with two outs, scored the go-ahead run when Cowley walked with the bases loaded. Luevano then hit his two-run single to put the Saints up by three. Chris Burnette (Cal Poly Pomona), who relieved Gardner with one out and one on in the eighth inning, stranded the bases loaded in that inning without allowing a run, but could not close out the win in the ninth, surrendering a single and hitting two batters before handing the ball to Michael Hendricks (Lee) with the bases loaded and two outs to get. Hendricks walked the first batter he faced to allow the Barons sixth run but struck out the next two to save the win for the Saints.

Click here for recaps of this game

Thousand Oaks, CA

Today’s game between the San Luis Obispo Blues and the Conejo Oaks was suspended after nine innings with the score tied 5-5 due to darkness. The game will be resumed tomorrow at 4:30pm prior to the previously scheduled game between the same two teams at Sparky Anderson Field. Recaps of both games will be reported tomorrow night.

June 22, 2019
Healdsburg, CA

Connor Mack (Cal) singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth of a tie ballgame, advanced to third on a single by Aaron Beaulaurier (Rice) and scored a walk-off run on a wild pitch as the Healdsburg Prune Packers beat the Solano Mudcats 6-5 tonight at Recreation Park. Mack and Beaulaurier were not only instrumental in the Packers winning the game, they were key to Healdsburg even having a chance as both players and Tyler Thornton (St. Mary’s) hit two-out RBI-singles as part of a four-run rally in the seventh inning that erased a 5-1 deficit. Healdsburg was down after Solano posted a four-run rally of their own in the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a single and then scoring on another walk, two run-scoring groundouts and a two-out RBI-single by Hunter Dorraugh (Sac St.). Kenny Haus (UConn), who entered the game to pitch for the Packers in relief of Elijah Birdsong (Pacific), held the Mudcats scoreless over the final three innings, striking out three and pitching around a single and a walk in each inning while the Packers offense made their comeback. Trey Garlett (Texas Tech) started on the mound tonight for Healdsburg and threw three shutout innings with two strikeouts before turning the pitching duties over to Cole Stilwell (Texas Tech) who pitched two innings and allowed Solano’s first run in the fourth inning when the leadoff hitter reached base after being hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a two-out single by James Harwell (Sonoma St). Nate Freeman (UC Davis) was the starting pitcher for Solano, striking out three over his five-inning start and allowing one run when Bryson Hill (Houston) doubled to lead off the second inning and scored two outs later on a Kevin Sandri (Pacific) single. Diego Ramirez (Occidental) relieved Hill to start the sixth inning and allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out five to suffer the loss.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

Santa Barbara, CA

Zach Kaminkow (West Texas A&M) hit a pair of two-run doubles and four pitchers combined to strand 14 runners on base to lead the Conejo Oaks to an 8-5 win over the Santa Barbara Foresters tonight at Pershing Park. Kaminkow’s first double came in the second inning and was the big hit in a five-run rally that gave Conejo the early lead. Jacob Castro (UC Irvine) and Ryne Yamashiro (Cal Lutheran) ignited the rally with consecutive singles to leadoff the inning and, after an error plated the first Conejo run, Kaminkow hit his double, advanced to third on a Gabe Baldovino (Ventura JC) single and scored on an RBI-groundout, and then Baldovino scored on a Will Pickets single. The rally gave the Oaks a 5-1 lead after Santa Barbara scored once in their first at bat on an error. Conejo added a run to their lead in the fourth inning when Steele Ledford (UC Santa Barbara) led off with a double and scored on a two-single by Justin Ammons (Tennessee). The Foresters started inching their way back into the game, scoring once in their half of the fourth inning on the first of three Diego Harris singles, twice in the fifth without the benefit of a hit, scoring on an error and a sacrifice fly, and once in the seventh when Ross Cadena (Wichita St) doubled, advanced to third on a single by Connor McKenna (Oklahoma) and scored on a sacrifice fly to get Santa Barbara within one, 6-5. The Oaks added insurance runs in the eighth inning when they got two runners on base via a walk and hit batsman and, with two outs, Kaminkow doubled again to post the final score. Clay Rickerman (Cal Lutheran) held the Foresters scoreless over the last two innings in relief of Noah Mattera (UNLV) who picked up the win, pitching three and a third innings of relief with three strikeouts. Carson Carter (Texas Tech) started on the mound for Conejo and allowed one run on one hit in two innings of work before turning the pitching duties over to Peyton Ebel (Greensboro). Luke Taggart (Incarnate Word) was the starting pitcher for the Foresters and suffered the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits over four innings. Nico O’Donnell (Texas) struck out three over three scoreless innings and Brock Helverson (West Virginia) pitched the last inning and two-thirds scoreless with three strikeouts in relief of Connor Curry (Nebraska).

Click here for recaps of this game

San Luis Obispo, CA

Noah Huerta (Texas Tech), Kyle Richardson (Texas A&M), Andrew Alvarez (Cal Poly) and Connor Wilford combined to hold the Arroyo Seco Saints to three runs on only four hits and lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 7-3 win today at Sinsheimer Park. Huerta, who struck out two over four innings and allowed only one hit, a Thomas Luevano (USD) home run to lead off the fourth inning, was the beneficiary of ample run support. The Blues scored six unanswered runs to start the game: Once in their first at bat when Ryan Cole (Notre Dame) hit a leadoff single and scored on a Taison Corio (Delta JC) single, four times in the second inning on a Dylan Beavers (Cal) solo home run, a two-out two-run single by Hunter Swift (Oral Roberts) and a first-and-third double steal of home, and once in the third when Julian Bury (Columbia), who had doubled in his first at bat, hit an RBI-single to put the Blues up 6-0. The Blues then scored their final run of the game immediately after the Saints scored their first, scoring once in the fourth inning when TJ Rumfield (Texas Tech) hit a single to drive in Cole who reached on a bunt single, stole second base and scored for the third time in the game. Richardson relieved Huerta to start the fifth inning and struck out the side in the fifth and struck out one more in the sixth to pitch two scoreless. Alvarez pitched the eighth inning an allowed an unearned run when an error allowed Luevano, who had singled and stole second base, to score. Wilford also allowed one hit and one run, surrendering a leadoff double in the ninth inning to Evan Russell (Tennessee) who would eventually score on a run-producing groundout to post the final score. Luis Ramirez (Long Beach St) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco and allowed five runs on six hits to suffer the loss. Hayden Harris (Georgia Southern) relieved Ramirez to start the third inning and went on to strikeout seven in five innings before Michael Hendricks (Lee) came in to pitch a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 20, 2019
Alameda, CA

Justin Banks (Coppin St) had three hits, including a two-run home run, Jason Pridy (Solano JC) and Eric Robles (Sterling College) hit back-to-back RBI-doubles and Nick Peifer (Cal Poly Pomona) hit a two-run triple to lead the Solano Mudcats to an 11-6 win over the San Francisco Seals tonight at Alameda College. Bank’s home run, which came with two outs in the first inning, opened the scoring for Solano and highlighted the Mudcats’ 15-hit attack in which all nine batters in their lineup recorded at least one hit and all but two of them scored runs. San Francisco’s starting pitcher Ricky Hernandez settled in for a while after Bank’s home run, facing the minimum three batters in each of the next three innings as the Seals rallied in the fourth inning to score three times to take the lead on two singles, an RBI-double by Drew Lowe (Oral Roberts), a sacrifice fly and an error. But once the fifth inning started, Hernandez didn’t record another out, as the first two batters reached on a hit batsman and a single, followed immediately by the two doubles by Pridy and Robles that drove in one and two runs, respectively, and another hit batsman chased Hernandez from the game. Sonny Brandwood, who relieved Hernandez, allowed Peifer’s triple and an RBI-single by Josh Medina (Sonoma St) before striking out the next three batters in a row to end the 6-run Mudcats rally. Solano added a run in the sixth inning when Christian Harkey (Savannah St) led off with a single and scored on an Isaiah Verrett (UC Davis) single, and scored once in the seventh when Banks led off with a double and scored on Harkey’s third single of the game before the Seals scored three times in the eighth on a sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Gianni Bloom made the score 10-6. Banks singled in the ninth, advanced to third on a double by Eric Waldichuk (Willamette) and scored on an RBI-groundout to finish out the scoring. Cody Switzer (Napa Valley JC) started on the mound for the Mudcats, picking up the win by pitching six innings while allowing three runs on four hits and striking out two.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

San Luis Obispo, CA

For the third night in a row at Sinsheimer Park the Santa Barbara Foresters pitching staff stymied the hitters of the San Luis Obispo Blues and the Foresters offense scored just enough to win as the Foresters beat the Blues tonight 2-1 in twelve innings. The Foresters won the three-game series by a total of five runs, 4-2 Tuesday, 3-1 Wednesday and by one tonight, and that run tonight was a manufactured run when, with one out in the twelfth inning, Eric Kennedy (Texas) reached base after being hit by a pitch, stole second base, advanced to third on a single and scored what proved to be the winning run on a fielder’s choice groundout. That was how the Foresters grabbed the lead in tonight’s game, but how they won this game, and how they won all three games in this series, is with dominant pitching. Seven Foresters’ pitchers combined to hold the Blues to one run on eight hits and stranded twelve runners on base. The Blues got runners into scoring position in seven innings but the Santa Barbara pitchers escaped all of those situations except one, when a leadoff walk and a stolen base got a runner to second base in the fifth inning and Taison Corio (Delta JC) hit a two-out RBI-single. Corio’s hit tied the score 1-1, as the Foresters took the early lead in the second inning when Zach Presno (Fresno State) led off with a double, advanced to third on a single and scored on a groundball double play. Other than that, the rest of the game was a pitchers’ duel as both starting pitchers and both bullpens dominated. Larson Kindreich (Biola) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Braeden Gowdy started for San Luis and went four innings with three strikeouts. Kevin Larson (Fresno St), Drake Greenwood (Rice), Hunter Breault (Oregon), Connor Curry (Nebraska), Christian Winston (San Diego State) and Ryan Bergert (West Virginia) combined for eight scoreless innings for Santa Barbara, while Tyler Chivens, Derek True (Cal Poly), Hunter Swift (Oral Roberts), Kai Janowicz (UC Davis) and Andrew Alvarez (Cal Poly) matched them every step of the way until the twelfth inning. While Chivens struck out three in two innings of work, True struck out four in two innings, and Swift struck out five in two innings, the dominant performance of the night has to go to Bergert who, once the Foresters grabbed the lead, came into the game in the bottom of the twelfth and struck out three straight to close out the win.

Click here for recaps of this game

Pasadena, CA

The Arroyo Seco Saints hit four singles and took advantage of two errors to score four runs in the fourth inning en route to beating the Orange County Riptide 5-1 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The four-run rally came at the expense of Riptide starting pitcher Ricky Reynoso (Pacific) who had cruised through the first three innings, allowing only a single and a walk in the second inning and a leadoff double by Anthony Forte (Richmond) whom he stranded by retiring the next three batters he faced in the third. But after allowing two consecutive singles to lead off the fourth inning, Reynoso was bitten by a error that allowed one run to score, an RBI-single by Thomas McCarthy (USF), a sacrifice fly and another run-producing error before he could retire the next two batters and get out of the inning. The Saints’ starting pitcher Colin King (Regis) also had to pitch through innings extended by two errors, but in both those cases, neither of the errors produced runs and he was able to pitch three and third scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to Cade Bullinger (Texas St) who scattered six hits over four and two-thirds innings of work, allowing only one run to score when Blake Faddoul (Santa Clara) hit a two-out RBI-double in the sixth inning to make the score 4-1. Arroyo Seco answered the Riptide run by scoring one in their half of the inning without the benefit of a hit and then Bullinger faced the minimum three batters in the seventh and eighth innings before Chris Burnette (Cal Poly Pomona) closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, pitching around a leadoff walk and a single to retire the last three batters he faced.

Click here for recaps of this game

Thousand Oaks, CA

Jair Donovan (Concordia), Logan Pollack (Michigan) and Jaylen Heard (Heartland) hit three consecutive two-out RBI-doubles and Trent Anderson hit a pair of run-producing singles in consecutive at bats to lead the Academy Barons to an 8-7 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Sparky Anderson Field. The back-to-back-to-back doubles for the Barons came in their first at bat and followed a single by Basiel Williams Jr. (Jones JC) that got things going after the first two batters of the inning were retired. Reece Matheisen (Glendale JC), who started on the mound for Conejo, struck out a batter to end the Barons’ first inning rally and went on to throw three scoreless innings, striking out five, before turning the pitching duties over to the Oaks bullpen. Julian Jackson (Eastern Kentucky) was the starting pitcher for the Academy and held the 3-0 lead in dominant fashion for a while, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced until the Oaks got an RBI-single by Alexander Briggs (Cal Lutheran) and a two-out, two-run single by Tyler Odekirk (Cal St LA) and tied the score 3-3. The Barons answered the Oaks three runs with four of their own in their next at bat, stringing together four singles, including RBI-hits by Anderson and Donovan, and a costly Oaks error to retake the lead, and then added another run in the seventh inning when Anderson hit a two-out single to make the score 8-3. Nico Lima (Oxnard JC) doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly for the Oaks in the eighth and Conejo rallied for three runs on five hits, including a two-run double by Justin Ammons (Tennessee) and an RBI-single by Lima in the ninth, but fell just short when Jacob Castro (UC Irvine) hit his second double of the game with two outs in the ninth but was stranded when the last batter flew out to end the game.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 18, 2019
Irvine, CA

Tyler Booth and five relief pitchers tossed eight scoreless innings, combining for six strikeouts and no walks allowed and making the three unearned runs the Orange County Riptide offense scored in the first inning good enough for a 4-2 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Great Park Stadium. Booth retired the first seven batters he faced in order before giving up a one-out single to Gabe Baldovino (Ventura JC) in the third inning. At this point in the game, Booth and the Riptide were leading 3-0 after Orange County scored three times on an error and consecutive singles by Connor Aoki (Binghamton) and Daniel Jung (Notre Dame), all with two outs in their first at bat. The Oaks would rally after Baldovino’s hit, however, scoring two times on two-out RBI-singles by Justin Ammons (Tennessee) and Tyler Odekirk (Cal St LA) to get within one, 3-2. That was as close as Conejo would get as Booth pitched around an error in the fourth inning, a double and single by Ammons and Odekirk, respectively, in the fifth, and then the Orange County relief corps dominated the rest of the game, allowing only one hit and two total baserunners over the last four innings to close out the win. Gerry Ramirez started on the mound for the Oaks and struck out three over six innings, allowing only one earned run by way of a Dylan Rock (UTSA) RBI-double in the fifth inning. Jung, who doubled in the sixth inning, finished three-for-three and had a game-high three hits.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

San Luis Obispo, CA

Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts) struck out five in a five-inning start and four relief pitchers struck out seven more over the last four innings to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 4-2 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Sinsheimer Park. The five Santa Barbara pitchers, combined, allowed only three hits and no earned runs, as the Blues scored both of their runs tonight by way of Foresters errors. Both unearned runs occurred while Coffey was pitching. In fact, Coffey had to pitch around four Foresters errors in his five-inning outing. The first batter he faced in the game reached on an error and, after a stolen base and another error put the runner on third base, the Blues got on the board via a sacrifice fly while Coffey retired the next three batters in order. Coffey retired the side in order in the second inning and, after issuing a leadoff walk in the third, was bitten by another error as a single was compounded by a two-base error allowed the Blues’ second run to score. He pitched around a leadoff error again to start his fourth inning, retiring the next three batters, and retired the side in order in the fifth before turning the pitching duties over to the Foresters bullpen. At this point in the game the Foresters were leading 3-2 after scoring two runs in the first inning on three consecutive one-out singles and a sacrifice fly, and one in the fifth when Eric Kennedy (Texas) doubled and scored on an RBI-single by Blake Hall (Oral Roberts). Drake Greenwood (Rice) was the first reliever in for Santa Barbara and faced the biggest test, allowing a walk and two singles in the sixth inning but escaping unscathed as a runner was caught stealing and a groundball out stranded two runners. Brad Demco pitched around a hit batsman to pitch a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two, Connor Woods (UNLV) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Ryan Bergert (West Virginia) pitched around two walks and another Foresters error that threatened to undo all the dominance as the Blues loaded the bases in the ninth, but Bergert struck out three in the inning to close out the win. Pierson Ohl (Grand Canyon) started on the mound for San Luis and struck out four in his four innings of work, Noah Huerta (Texas Tech) pitched three innings with a pair of strikeouts and one run allowed, and Connor Wilford pitched the last two innings, allowing the fourth Foresters run by way of a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 15, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA

Bailey Holbrook hit a two-out bases loaded two-run single to tie the game in the ninth inning, advanced to second when Zach Kaminkow (West Texas A&M) singled and scored the winning run when Alexander Briggs (Cal Lutheran) hit a walk-off single to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 8-7 win over the Academy Barons today at Sparky Anderson Field. The dramatic win in the ninth inning was setup by a leadoff walk, a Jacob Castro (UC Irvine) single and, after two outs were recorded on fly balls, another walk that loaded the bases. The win was made even more dramatic because the Barons had come back late in the game from a 5-2 deficit by scoring five unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to head into the ninth leading 7-5. The Academy got a big game from Kyle Freeman (Pitzer College) who drove in four of the Barons five late inning runs with an RBI-double in the seventh inning and a bases-clearing three-run single in the eighth and also hit a solo home run in the fifth to score the Academy’s first run and finished with a game-high five RBI. The Oaks led early in the game, having scored once in the first inning when Raul Sandoval (Oxnard JC) led off with the first of his three hits of the game and Niko Lima (Oxnard JC) drove him in with a two-out single; once in the second when Holbrook hit a solo home run; and once in the third when a bases loaded walk gave Conejo a 3-0 lead. Reece Matheisen (Glendale JC), who started on the mound for Conejo, held the Barons hitless throughout his four-inning outing, striking out three and facing the minimum twelve batters as the two batters he walked were erased on the bases, first as part of a double-play and, second, as the out in a fielder’s choice. Even the batter who reached base on the fielder’s choice was erased on the bases, caught stealing, to assist Matheisen’s performance. After Freeman’s home run in the fifth made the score 3-1, the Oaks answered in their half of the inning with a run of their own when Lima led off with a single, stole second and scored on an error. Conejo scored their fifth run in the sixth inning when Briggs and Sandoval led off with consecutive singles and Briggs scored later on a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-2 and setup the late inning dramatics.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

Santa Barbara, CA

Starting pitcher Luke Taggart (Incarnate Word) allowed only one run in six innings, and the three relievers that followed him allowed only one hit to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 4-1 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Pershing Park. Taggert faced the minimum three batters in three of his first four innings allowing only two hits, a Thomas Luevano (USD) double to lead off the second inning, which ended on a double-play, and a two-out single in the third. Taggert’s scoreless start was matched by the Saint’s starting pitcher Hayden Harris (Georgia Southern) for three innings, but in the fourth, the Foresters got to Harris, scoring four runs on six hits, including an RBI-double by Conor McKenna (Oklahoma) and run-scoring singles by Tevin Tucker (West Virginia) and Ryan Cash (Oral Roberts). The four-run outburst would be the only scoring of the game for Santa Barbara as Luis Ramirez (Long Beach St) relieved Harris to start the fifth inning and held the Foresters scoreless over the next four, striking out four while scattering four hits. The Saints got their first two batters aboard via singles in the fifth inning, but Taggert retired the next three batters he faced to maintain his shutout. But with two outs and nobody on base, Arroyo Seco got back to back doubles by Charlie Harrigan (Miami) and Leuvano to make the score 4-1. That was as close as the Saints would get, as Taggert turned the pitching duties over to the relief corps of Christian Winston (San Diego State), who retired the side in order in the seventh inning, striking out one; Brock Helverson (West Virginia) who pitched a scoreless eighth despite facing a bases-loaded situation after allowing, with two outs, a hit batter, a walk and a single; and Ryan Bergert (West Virginia) who struck out the side to close out the win.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 13, 2019
Pasadena, CA

Colin King (Regis) and Cade Bullinger (Texas St) struck out a combined 14 hitters, Thomas Luevano (USD) hit a clutch two-out, two-run single and Christian Scott (Tennessee) doubled and scored what proved to be the winning run to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 4-3 win over the Santa Barbara Foresters tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. King and Bullinger were tough to score upon tonight. Each scattered four hits over four plus innings and pitched with runners in scoring position in seven of their nine innings. King started the game for the Saints and stranded two baserunners in scoring position with one out in the first inning after allowing a walk and a double to Blake Hall (Oral Roberts) but struck out two batters in the inning to escape unscathed. He stranded another runner in scoring position in the second inning, again striking out a batter to avoid damage, but the Foresters did get to King in the third inning when Hall got his second hit of the game with two outs, advanced to second base when the next batter was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI-single by Ross Cadena (Wichita State), but King struck out the next hitter to hold Santa Barbara to a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the third inning Arroyo Seco answered the Foresters run with two of their own as a hit batter, a double by Justin Watari (New Mexico) and a walk loaded the bases with no outs and, after Foresters’ starting pitcher Larson Kindreich (Biola) struck out the next two batters, Luevano got his clutch single to put the Saints up 2-1. King and Kindreich, who notched five strikeouts in his four and a third inning start, retired the side in order in the fourth inning but neither would finish the fifth. The Foresters scored once in the fifth when the leadoff batter walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch and, after two more batters reached via an error and a hit batsman, Bullinger replaced King, and like King, stranded runners in scoring position without incurring further damage. The Saints again answered the Foresters run with one of their own, chasing Kindreich after Watari was hit by a pitch to leadoff the inning and a batter walked and, after Kindreich was replaced by Ryan Bergert (West Virginia), Watari scored on a groundout to again give the Saints a one-run lead 3-2. Bullinger pitched around a leadoff single in the sixth inning, stranding a runner in scoring position by striking out a batter, then struck out two in the seventh before Scott doubled to leadoff the Arroyo Seco half of the inning and scored on a Morgan Allen (St. Edward’s) two out single. Now leading 4-2, Bullinger maintained the same approach that had worked all game. After allowing a one out single in the eighth inning, Bullinger struck out two batters to strand a runner in scoring position. And then again in the ninth inning, after allowing a single and Hall’s second double of the game to get the Foresters within one, Bullinger then retired the next two batters, this time by fly balls, stranding Hall, the potential tying run, on base to close out the Saints win. Bergert struck out four in two and two thirds innings of relief and Conner Woods (UNLV) struck out two in his one inning appearance for Santa Barbara.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

Irvine, CA

JP Massey (Minnesota), Travis Lavendier (Chico St), Trevor Sutt (Long Beach JC) and Elijah Pleasants compiled a combined 15 strikeouts to lead the Academy Barons to a 4-3 win over the Orange County Riptide tonight at Great Park Stadium. The strikeouts by the Barons’ pitchers were key to their win tonight because nine of them occurred with runners in scoring position, eliminating any chance a ball put in play would produce a run. Massey, who started on the mound for the Academy, set the pattern for using the strikeout in each of his two innings. He struck out the final two outs in the first inning after a batter reached base on a fielder’s choice and stole second base and he recorded two of the three outs in the second inning via strikeout after Andre Antone (UC Irvine) doubled to lead off the inning for the Riptide. Lavendier relieved Massey to start the third inning and, after giving up one run on a two-out triple by Connor Aube (UT Arlington) and an RBI-single by Dylan Rock (UTSA), picked up where Massey left off and struck out the last batter he faced to limit the damage in the third and stranded the leadoff batter at second base in the fourth inning by striking out two of the next three batters. At this point the Barons had a 4-1 lead, having scored all of their runs in the game in a flurry of four hits and a walk to start the third inning, including RBI-singles by Trent Anderson and Channy Ortiz (Grand Canyon) and a two-run double by Jaylen Heard (Heartland). Sutt, the third Barons pitcher, struck out five batters in three scoreless innings, allowing only one runner to reach base via an error, and Pleasants retired the side in order in the eighth inning before closing out the win by striking out the last two batters he faced in the ninth. For their part, the Orange County pitchers were, except for the third inning Barons rally, every bit as dominant on the mound as the Academy, retiring the side in order in six of the nine innings and allowing only three singles and one walk outside of the four-run third.

Click here for recaps of this game

Healdsburg, CA

Connor Mack (Cal) hit a three-run home run, a two-run triple and a single, Blake MacDonald (Santa Rosa JC) hit a three-run home run, and Cole Brodnansky (UConn) hit a solo home run to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 21-3 blowout win over the San Francisco Seals tonight at Recreation Park. The three players with home runs were only a slice of the 17-hit attack that was boosted by 11 walks issued by the Seals. In all, ten of the twelve Healdsburg batters who made an appearance tonight collected hits, six of whom had multiple hit games and all twelve of them scored runs. The Packers pitching was equally dominant over the Seals, who split their squad for two losing efforts tonight, here and in Lincoln, as Morgan White (Portland) struck out seven in his four-inning start, Spencer Hynes (Houston) struck out four in two innings of relief, including all three in a perfect sixth inning, Jackson Cunningham (CSUN) notched two strikeouts in two innings, and Noah Rennard (Santa Rosa JC) retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the win.

*Recaps of this game were not available at post time.

Lincoln, CA

Lorenzo Debrecht (Sierra) hit a bases-clearing three-run double and Alex Schroeder hit a two-run single before an out was recorded in the ninth inning as the Lincoln Potters rallied from five runs down to a win in walk-off fashion 8-7 over the San Francisco Seals tonight at Vanden High. Trailing 7-2 after the Seals had broken open a 3-2 game with two runs in the eighth inning on a two-run home run by Drew Lowe (Oral Roberts) and two runs in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI-groundout, the Potters started getting runners on base in their half of the ninth until their win was secured. Jordan Berry (Chochise JC) led off the ninth inning with a single, three batters walked, the Seals changed pitchers, Debrecht hit his double, two more batters walked and then Schroeder won it with his single. It was the only time Lincoln had led in the game. The Seals scored first when Hayden Craig (Southwestern) singled to leadoff the second inning, advanced to third on a Gianni Bloom double and scored on an RBI-groundout. After the Potters tied the score in the fourth on a two-out RBI-double by Berry, the Seals scored twice in the fifth on two singles, a walk, an error and a fielder’s choice to make the score 3-1. Lincoln added a run in the sixth on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly, then the late inning mayhem ensued. Aaron Clark (Southwestern) started on the mound for San Francisco, recording five strikeouts in his five inning outing and allowed one run on three hits, and Drew Stahl had four strikeouts in three innings of relief of Clark but allowed five runs on three hits and five walks. Six pitchers appeared in the game for Lincoln, none performing better than Nolan Murphy (William Jessup) who entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the ninth inning and limited the damage by retiring the next three batters he faced to allow the walk-off victory to have a chance.

Click here for recaps of this game

June 11, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA

Zach Presno (Fresno St) hit a grand slam, an RBI-triple and a single, Blake Hall (Oral Roberts) had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and three RBI, and five pitchers combined to strikeout 13 hitters and throw seven hitless innings to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 10-1 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Sparky Anderson Field. Presno’s slam was the topper in the Foresters 12-hit attack, coming with two outs in the ninth inning, but it was his triple in the fourth that put Santa Barbara ahead for good. Trailing 1-0 early after Raul Sandoval (Oxnard JC) hit a solo home run in the first inning for Conejo, the Foresters scored twice in the fourth, tying the game when Eric Kennedy (Texas) bunted his way on base, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly. Presno’s triple came one out later and drove in Hall who had doubled to give Santa Barbara the lead. Hall doubled again in the sixth inning, driving in one to up the score to 3-1, and Connor Pavolony (Tennessee) hit a two-out RBI-single in the eighth to make it 4-1. The Foresters blew the game open in the ninth inning on three walks, two singles, including Hall’s third RBI of the game, and Presno’s home run to put the game away. Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts) started on the mound for Santa Barbara, notching six strikeouts in four innings of work. After allowing three hits and a walk in his first inning, Coffey settled in and retired nine of the next ten batters he faced. Dylan Kelley (SBCC) and Christian Winston (San Diego State) were the first two relievers in after Coffey, and each retired the three batters they faced in order, both with two strikeouts. Then Nico O’Donnell (Texas) pitched two innings, retiring six of seven while striking out two and Brad Demco closed out the ninth inning with two more strikeouts.

Click here for recaps of this game

Elsewhere around the CCL tonight:

Pasadena, CA

Andre Antone (UC Irvine) hit a home run and a pair of RBI-singles, Caleb Denny (Arkansas) and Antonio Cruz (Rice) each hit two-run doubles, Tyler Booth pitched five innings of one-hit ball and Noah Walker (Texas St) struck out four in the last two innings to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 10-4 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Antone started and ended the Riptide scoring tonight, driving in the first run of the game with a two-out single in the first inning, and driving in the last run of the game with another two-out single in the eighth. His first hit, which drove in Cason Matthews (BYU), who had led off the game with a single, ignited a five-run two-out rally for Orange County in which Denny and Cruz both notched their two-run doubles. After the Saints got on the board by scoring an unearned run in the second inning on two errors, Antone led off the third inning with a solo home run to up the lead back to five, 6-1. The unearned run was the only blemish on Booth’s five-inning start. He pitched around three walk during his outing and, except for the two errors that allowed the one run to cross the plate, was never threatened and left the game leading 8-1 after the Riptide added two more runs in the fourth inning when Matthews again led off with a single, scored on a Blake Evans (Georgia Southern) single and an error allowed Evans to score. After Matthews walked and scored for the third time on a groundout in the sixth, Arroyo Seco managed a pair of runs in their half of the inning on three singles, including an RBI-variety by Oscar Serratos (Georgia Tech), and a sacrifice fly, and one run in the seventh via a walk and a fielder’s choice. Walker came on the pitch the last two innings for the Riptide and squelched any thought of a Saints rally. He struck out the first two batters he faced and the last two he faced to close out the win.

Click here for recaps of this game

Compton, CA

Ruben Mercado (San Jose St) hit an RBI-triple and TJ Rumfield (Texas Tech) hit a run-scoring double to lead a six-run rally in the fifth inning and break open a one-run game as the San Luis Obispo Blues beat the Academy Barons 9-2 tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Mercado’s triple tied the scored 2-2 after the Barons had scored a run in their first at bat on an RBI-single by Kyle Freeman (Pitzer College) and another in the third inning on an error and a wild pitch, and the Blues had scored once in the fourth when Taison Corio (Delta JC) singled and eventually scored on an error. Mercado’s triple also unhitched the Blue’s offense. Batting around in the inning, San Luis put seven runners on base via five hits and two walks, culminated by Rumfield’s double to score their six runs and put the score at 7-2. The Blues tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly and an RBI-single by Duke Pahukoa (UNLV). Brett Super (Pitzer College), the second reliever called upon by the Blues, entered the game in the seventh inning in relief of Noah Huerta (Texas Tech), who earned the win with three scoreless innings in relief of starter Dan Harrington (Columbia). Super pitched around a single to the first batter he faced in the seventh and then retired the next six batters in order before turning the ball over to Bradley Tews (Azusa Pacific), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts to secure the win. Channy Ortiz (Grand Canyon) had two singles and scored twice to lead the Barons’ offense, while Trevor Sutt (Long Beach JC) pitched three scoreless innings to lead the Academy’s pitchers.

Click here for recaps of this game