July 24, 2018
Compton, CA
Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) hit a double, two singles and scored two runs, Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) hit ad a bases-loaded two-run single, and Joshua Stephens (Beaufort) and Ryan Zapata (MS JC) withstood a furious ninth-inning rally to lead the Academy Barons to a 5-4 win over the Santa Barbara Foresters today at the MLB Youth Academy. Lucio, whose three hits were a game-high, was a key player in two rallies that produced all five of the Barons runs. His single in the fourth inning was the first of three consecutive singles the Barons strung together, the last being Wilson’s two-RBI hit, to take the lead in the game after the Foresters scored one run in the first inning when Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) hit a two-out RBI single. Then, after Santa Barbara tied the score in the top of the sixth inning on a pair of Barons errors, Lucio doubled in the bottom of the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on an error. One out later in the sixth inning, Desmond Gates (West LA JC) extended the Academy lead with a two-out RBI-single and another error plated a third run to put the Barons up 5-2. Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb), the starting pitcher for the Barons who, after surrendering the first inning run, retired the next 13 batters in order, pitched a scoreless seventh inning before turning the pitching duties over to Stephens. Stephens pitched around a two-out single and walk to log a scoreless eighth inning, and retired the first batter of the ninth inning before things started to get sketchy. The Foresters strung together three consecutive singles by Utah Jones (North Greenville), Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) and Brandon Zaragoza (Oklahoma) to score one run, a wild pitch allowed a second run and a hit batsmen and a walk put the tying and go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs. That is when Zapata entered the game to relieve Stephens and Zapata retired the first batter he faced to strand three runners and save the Barons win. Michael Hobbs (St. Mary’s) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and threw three scoreless innings, striking out two, before being relieved by James Notary (TCU), who allowed four runs on four hits while striking out three in two-plus innings to suffer the loss.
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Pasadena, CA
Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) had three hits, two RBI and scored twice in the first three innings, Angelo Armenta (San Diego St) singled, doubled and drove in two runs and the Arroyo Seco Saints scored ten unanswered runs in their first four at bats to beat the Southern California Catch 10-5 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Briggs, the Saints leadoff hitter, singled, advanced to third on a Colin Shepard (Miami-Ohio) doubled and scored on an RBI-single by Nic Lacayo (Michigan St) in the first inning, singled in a run in the second, and hit an RBI-double in the third as part of the Saints’ five-run rally that made the score 9-0. Armenta, who hit one of the two sacrifice flies in the first inning along with Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) that gave Arroyo Seco a 3-0 lead, and who, again along with Williams, had an RBI-single in the third, doubled and scored in the fourth to make the score 10-0. Reed Osborn (Howard JC), the starting pitcher for Arroyo Seco tonight, threw four scoreless before allowing the Catch to score when Deylen Miley (Tiffin) doubled to lead off the fifth inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundball out. Timothy Post (Columbia) relieved Osborn to start the sixth inning and allowed one run on a Jacob Nemeth (Azusa Pacific) RBI-single in two innings while striking out three. JD Russomano (Corban) pitched the eighth inning for Arroyo Seco and allowed the third Catch run when Jake Boone (Princeton), who matched Briggs with a game-high three hits, singled to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a Wacy Crenshaw double and scored on Nemeth’s second RBI-single. Boone then drove in a run in the ninth inning and Grant Robbins (UNLV) added an RBI-fielder’s choice to post the final 10-5 score. Six pitchers appeared in tonight’s game for the Catch, highlighted by Brenden Argomaniz (Orange Coast JC) throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
July 23, 2018
Healdsburg, CA
Jake MacNichols (Santa Clara) hit a three-run home run and an RBI-triple, and Kevin Sandri (Pacific) had a game-high three hits and three runs scored to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 6-4 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues today at Recreation Park, a win that clinched Healdsburg a berth in the CCL Playoffs set to start Saturday in Thousand Oaks. MacNichols’ home run came with one out in the fifth inning and drove in Sandri, who had singled to lead off the inning, and Ben Sanderson (UC Santa Barbara), who had walked. The three-run shot put the Packers up 5-3 and flipped the lead for the third and last time in the game. Healdsburg had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their first at bat when Sandri and Sanderson hit leadoff singles and Sandri later scored on a sacrifice fly. Justin Lutes (Pepperdine) then hit a three-run home run to put the Blues up 3-1 in the second inning, driving in Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) and Jack Kuzma (Cal Poly) both who had singled, and Sandri tripled and scored on MacNichols’ triple in the third to get the Packers within one. Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) started on the mound for San Luis, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out four in four and one-third innings to suffer the loss. Cole Tucker, who relieved Scalzo after MacNichol’s home run, allowed one unearned run in the fifth after issuing a two-out walk, an error allowed the runner to advance to third and a Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) RBI-single made the score 6-3. Tucker then retired ten of the next eleven batters he faced, striking out four in his three-plus innings, to finish the game for the Blues. Henrik Reinertsen (Pacific) was the starting pitcher for Healdsburg, allowing the three early Blues runs on four hits in two and a third innings before being relieved by Shamus Lyons who got the last two outs of the third inning, pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth innings and was charged with a run allowed when Auston Chastain (Fresno St) hit a one-out triple in the sixth and scored on a Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) RBI-single after Jared Noonan (UC Riverside) relieved Lyons. Noonan and Eric Parnow pitched around two leadoff singles by Lipcius and Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) and a walk in the seventh inning, getting a big double-play when Lipcius was thrown out trying to tag and advance to third on a flyball out and Parnow picking a runner off first base to maintain the Packers lead. Chrit Rudkin (Montevallo) then retired the Blues in order in the eighth inning and pitched around a one-out single by Brian Klein (Texas Tech) in the ninth to close out the win. The win assures Healdsburg a spot in the CCL Playoffs Saturday. The Blues, who have concluded their regular season play, will need Healdsburg to beat the Conejo Oaks on Friday to make it to the playoffs.
July 22, 2018
Compton, CA
Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) scored what would prove to be the winning running by reaching base to lead off the top of the ninth inning and scoring from first base on a three-base error, and Jake Ortega (Bakersfield) picked off the potential tying run off third base to end the game as the Orange County Riptide beat the Academy Barons 4-3 today at the MLB Youth Academy. Leading 3-0 after Curry doubled and Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) tripled him home in the seventh inning and scoring twice in the eighth inning on an error and a wild pitch, the Riptide scored their winning run in the ninth after Curry was hit by a pitch to put Orange County up 4-0. They would need every one of those runs as the Barons rallied for three runs in their half of the ninth inning when an error and two walks loaded the bases with one and Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) hit a two-run double and Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) hit a sacrifice fly to plate one runner and advance Shanks, representing the tying run, to third base. Jacob Parker (Georgia Southern), who entered the game after Shanks’ double in relief of Jack Noble (Oregon) and surrendered the sacrifice fly, threw one more pitch and that is when Ortega, the Riptdie catcher, picked Shanks off third base to end the game. Issac Guerrero (Faulkner) started on the mound for the Riptide, striking out six in four shutout innings before being relieved by Brandon Ivey (Texas) and Noble who each threw two shutout innings each before Noble ran into trouble in the ninth. Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills), the starter for the Academy, threw six shutout innings while striking out six before being relieved by Andy Rosales (El Camino), who allowed three runs on two hits in one and two-thirds innings, and Alonzo Billips (Santa Clara), who recorded the last four outs without allowing a hit but was on the mound when Curry scored in the ninth.
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Santa Barbara, CA
Brett Standlee (Oklahoma State) and Hunter Breault (Oregon) outdueled Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) and Jackson Simonsgaard (Roger St), and Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) drove in the only run of the game with a two-out RBI-single to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 1-0 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Pershing Park. Standlee, who started for Santa Barbara, was good today but Breault was perfect. Standlee surrendered three hits and three walks, facing runners on base in each of his four-plus innings, managing to pitch out of every situation until his second walk allowed in the fifth inning prompted the Foresters to bring in Breault. Breault retired all 13 batters he faced, striking out five and extending his scoreless inning streak the season to 21 innings. Francis, who started for Conejo, was almost as dominant as his counterparts, allowing only five baserunners over seven innings, two via hits and three via walks. One of those walks, to Turner Gauntt (Texas) to lead off the third inning, came back to bite Francis when, after a sacrifice advanced Gauntt to second and a groundball out advanced him to third, Cash hit his single with what proved to be the winning run. The only other hit Francis allowed was a bunt single by Logan Allen (AR-Ft. Smith) to lead off the seventh inning. Simonsgaard pitched around a lead off single by Gauntt in the eighth inning to keep the score 1-0.
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Healdsburg, CA
Jordan Chriss (Columbia) struck out eight and allowed only one run in seven innings, Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) hit a three-run home run and scored three times, and Brian Klein (Texas Tech) had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 10-3 win over the Healdsburg Prune Packers tonight at Recreation Park. The run Chriss allowed came in the first inning when leadoff hitter Kevin Sandri (Pacific) doubled and scored one out later when Brian Arias (San Antonio), who would finish with a game-high three hits along with Klein, hit an RBI-single to give Healdsburg the early lead. From that point on, however, Chriss was dealing. After Arias’ hit in the first inning Chriss retired the next eight batters he faced, 13 of the next 14, and 20 of his last 23. The only blip Chriss faced the rest of the way was a two out single surrendered to Sam Wezniak (Cal) in the fifth inning followed by a walk to Sandri. Chriss retired the last out of the inning on a groundball and then retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings before handing the pitching duties over to Mario Lopez. By this time the Blues had scored seven times: twice in the third inning on RBI-singles by Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) and Klein, once in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk, and four times in the fifth without collecting a hit, scoring via two errors, two walks, a hit batsmen, a bases-loaded balk and a fielder’s choice. Lipcius added the capper in the ninth inning, hitting his home run after Klein and Jason Lutes (Pepperdine) singed in front of him with one out. The Packers added two runs in the eighth inning when Sandri doubled for the second time and scored on a Kurt Wilson (Texas Tech) double, and Arias drove in Wilson with a single for his second RBI of the game. Lopez retired the last two batters in the eighth inning to escape further damage and then pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win. Griffin Hattingh (Houston) started on the mound for Healdsburg and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out two in three and two-thirds innings. Jackson Cunningham (Northridge) retired the first eight batters he faced, three via strikeouts, in relief of Ed O’Bannon, who pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed four runs (one earned). Sam Reinertsen (Davidson College) pitched a scoreless eighth inning in relief of Cunningham but gave up the three Blues runs in the ninth.
July 21, 2018
Fullerton, CA
Cassius Hamm (Northridge) and Corey Dawson (Westmont College) combined to pitch a shutout, striking out nine, Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) hit a three-run home run and an RBI-single, and Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) had three hits and drove in three to lead the Orange County Riptide to an 11-0 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Fullerton College. Hamm started on the mound for Orange County and scattered five hits while striking out six over six innings and Dawson pitched the last three innings, allowing two hits while striking out three. Wyatt Kelley (New Mexico St) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, allowing five runs on five hits while striking out five, and started off well, throwing three scoreless innings, allowing only one baserunner, a single by Bandy in the second inning, before McWhorter hit his home run with one out in the fourth to give the Riptide their first lead. Orange County added two runs in the fifth inning when Aaron Simpson (Ball State) doubled and scored on a Paul Gomez (Missouri) triple, and Gomez scored on a sacrifice fly; two in the sixth when Auston Sojka (OK Wesleyan) and Bandy hit back-to-back one-out doubles and another sacrifice fly drove a run in; and four in the seventh when McWhorter and Bandy hit RBI-singles and an error plated another to post the final 11-0 score. Colin Shepherd (Miami-Ohio) had three hits for the Saints, matching Bandy for game-high honors.
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Healdsburg, CA
Dane Tofteland (Indiana St) hit a pinch-hit, walk-off two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Chase Gardner (UConn), Nick Candelari (Texas Tech) and Kurt Wilson (Texas Tech) combined to strike out 14 to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 4-3 win over the Southern California Catch tonight at Recreation Park. Tofteland’s home run erased a lead the Catch had held since the third inning when Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) hit a two-run single to put the Catch up 2-1, Tofteland drove in Clay Koelzer (Texas Tech) who had singled after Anthony Mayorga, who came in to pitch the ninth inning for the Catch, struck out the first batter he faced. Gardner started on the mound for Healdsburg and cruised through the first two innings, striking out five of the first six batters he faced before running into trouble in the third when Miguel Abascal (USD) led off with a ground-rule double and two walks loaded the bases in front of Jung’s RBI-single. Candelari, who entered the game with two outs in the third inning in relief of Garnder, then struck out seven over the next four innings, allowing one run on three hits, one of which was a solo home run by Jacob Nemeth (Azusa Pacific) in the seventh inning that put the Catch up 3-1. Healdsburg had taken the first lead of the game when Jake MacNichols (Santa Clara) doubled to lead off the second inning and scored when Cole Brodnansky hit a two-out double, and got within one in the seventh inning when Brodnansky walked, advanced on an error and scored on a run-producing groundout. Wilson pitched the last two innings for the Packers, retiring the side in order in the eighth and the first two batters in the ninth before Nemeth hit a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Wilson struck out the next batter to end the threat, keep the Packers within one and setup the dramatic win.
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Santa Barbara, CA
Justin Friedman retired the first 14 batters he faced and struck out six over seven innings, and the Conejo Oaks offense opened up a 9-0 lead in route to beating the Santa Barbara Foresters 9-3 tonight at Pershing Park. Friedman was perfect until John Jensen (UC Irvine) hit a two-out single in the fifth inning and Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma St) followed with an RBI-double. Friedman escaped the fifth without further damage, returned to retiring the side in order for the sixth inning, and would’ve pitched a scoreless seventh except for an error that allowed the Foresters to score their second run. At that point, however, game was all but decided as the Oaks had rallied for six runs in the fifth inning to take a 9-0 lead. In the fifth, the Oaks collected five singles, including RBI-hits by Jordan McFarland (Arkansas), Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley), who had a game-high three hits, and Tanner Wright (Cal Lu), and took advantage of two Foresters errors to generate the six runs. Conejo had scored once in the third inning when Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) hit a two-out RBI-double, and twice in the fourth when Bailey Holbrook hit a bases-loaded single to drive in a pair. Angus Denton (Arkansas) pitched the final two innings for the Oaks in relief of Friedman, allowing one unearned run in the eighth inning when Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) singled in a runner who had reached on an error with two outs, and then Denton retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the win. Jordan Wolf (West Virginia) was the starting pitcher for Santa Barbara tonight, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out six in four innings to suffer the loss. Bailey Reid (Westmont College) struck out five in two innings of relief to highlight the Foresters pitching.
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.
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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.
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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.
July 19, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
Cameron Warren (Texas Tech) tripled with one out in the tenth inning and scored the go-ahead run when Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) hit a two-out double to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 6-5 extra innings win over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Warren and Cash were the hitting stars of the game for Santa Barbara. Their three hits apiece accounted for two-thirds of the total hits the team collected, so it was only fitting that it was them who generated what would prove to be the winning run. The game had been tied 5-5 since the eighth inning after the Foresters took a brief lead in the top of the eighth when Cash hit a one-out single, advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch, and scored on a Logan Allen (AR-Ft. Smith) sacrifice fly, and the Blues tied it in their half of the inning when Brian Klein (Texas Tech) led off with a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) retired the Foresters in order in the ninth inning, striking out two, and struck out the first batter he faced in the tenth before Warren hit his triple, and struck out the next hitter before surrendering the lead when Cash got the big hit. Bryce Elder (Texas) started on the mound for Santa Barbara, striking out ten in six innings of work, but trailed throughout his outing as the Blues scored three times in their first at bat as the first four Blues reached base on three singles and a walk, with runs scoring on singles by Klein and Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) and a passed ball. After Lipcius’ hit Elder settled in and retired twelve of the next 13 batters he faced before surrendering a one-out triple to Jay Charleston (Tennessee) in the fifth inning. A sacrifice fly brought Charleston in to give San Luis a 4-0 lead and then the Santa Barbara offenses started clicking. Frustrated by Blues starting pitcher Gabe Constantine through the first five innings, collecting only two hits and striking out five times, the Foresters scored three times in the sixth inning on a Warren two-run double and a Cash RBI-single and tied the score in the seventh on an RBI-single by Conor Davis (Auburn). Bailey Reid (Westmont College) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Foresters, striking out two and stranding the winning run on third base in relief of Nico O’Donnell (Texas), who pitched two-hitless innings in the seventh and eighth with two strikeouts in relief of Elder. Chase Wallace (Tennessee) then pitched around a two-out error in the tenth, stranding the tying run at second base to close out the win.
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Compton, CA
Micah Pries (Pt. Loma) hit a two-run triple and a double, Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) hit an RBI-double and Chase Sebby (Ball State) tripled to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 7-4 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Pries’ triple opened the scoring in the third inning, driving in Bandy, who had reached base on a walk, and Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), who had singled. Pries then scored on a groundout to give the Riptide a 3-0 lead. Orange County starting pitcher Hayden Pearce (Pacific) threw three scoreless innings to start the game despite surrendering four singles, but the hits caught up to him in the fourth inning as the Barons collected four more singles, scoring twice on RBI by Cameron Dean (Rockhurst) and Bruce Martin (Stetson) to make the score 3-2. Barons starting pitcher Ryan Hare (UNLV) retired ten of the next eleven batters he faced after surrendering the three runs in the third inning but, in the seventh inning, Sebby hit his triple and scored on a wild pitch, and Bandy hit his RBI-double to put the Riptide up 5-2 and, after Hare was relieved by Jake Binder (Ithaca College) to start the eighth, Orange County scored twice more when Pries doubled to lead off the inning, Austin Sojka (OK Wesleyan) hit an RBI-single and a sacrifice fly drove in Sojka. Tyler Frazier (Oregon), who entered the game to pitch in the fifth inning in relief of Pearce, pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts before allowing two runs in the eighth when Garrett Ouellette (San Bernardino) led off with a double and Hunter Lewis (Indiana State), who had a game-high three hits, and Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) hit RBI-singles. Frazier retired the next two batters, one via his sixth strikeout, to end the threat, and Brandon Ivey (Texas) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win.
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Thousand Oaks, CA
Gerry Ramirez (Glendale JC) struck out seven, allowing one run on five hits over seven innings, and John Vergara pitched the last two innings scoreless to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 7-1 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Sparky Anderson Field. Ramirez retired the side in order in three of his seven innings, didn’t give up a single walk and allowed only one runner to reach beyond first base, Mitch Kerner, who singled with two outs in the fourth inning, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored the Saints only run of the game when Tristan Peterson followed with an RBI-single. Vergara was similarly effective in his two innings of relief of Ramirez, retiring six of the seven batters he faced, striking out two, to close out the win. Charles Peacock (Galveston JC), who was the starting pitcher for the Saints today, struck out ten in four innings but also walked four, allowing three runs in the first inning when Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) and Michael Spears (Ole Miss) hit RBI-singles. Conejo added a run in the fifth inning when Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) led off with a single, advanced to third on a Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) double and scored on a sacrifice fly, and three more in the seventh when Cockrell again led off the inning with a single and then three walks, an error and a hit batsmen pushed runs across to post the final 7-1 score.
July 17, 2018
La Mirada, CA
Jacob Rogers (UNLV) had three hits, including a two-run home run, Omar Ortiz (Cochise College) had two hits, including a solo home run and the Southern California Catch snapped their ten-game losing streak by beating the Academy Barons 9-4 today at Biola University. Rogers hit his home run with two outs in the seventh inning, driving in Kristian Franklin (Grambling St), who had singled to lead off the inning to give the Catch a 5-2 lead. Ortiz’ home run put the Catch on the scoreboard in the second inning, tying the score at 1-1 after Joseph Argumedo (Lynn) hit a solo shot of his own in the Barons’ half of the inning. The score remained unchanged until the sixth inning when the Academy took the lead on a Hunter Lewis (Indiana State) RBI-single, but the Catch took the lead for good in their half of the inning when Grant Robbins (UNLV) and Jake Boone (Princeton) led off the inning with a single and a double, respectively, and an Ortiz groundball out scored one and a sacrifice fly scored another to make the score 3-2. Tayt Smith (Azusa Pacific) started on the mound for the Catch, allowing only the one Barons run in the second while striking out five over five innings before turning the pitching duties over to Taed Heydinger, who surrendered the sixth inning run, Matt Reitz (Covenant College), who pitched a scoreless seventh and was pulled after one batter in the eighth after allowing a leadoff single to Desmond Gates (West LA JC), who would score later on an wild pitch, and Caleb Bly (Oklahoma Baptist). Anthony Mayorga, the third pitcher utilized in the seventh inning by the Catch, came into the game after Gates scored, struck out two of the next three batters in the inning to limit the damage, and then pitched the ninth inning to close out the win despite allowing a run on two singles. The Catch added four insurance runs in the eighth inning when Boone and Ortiz led off the inning with consecutive singles and, after two outs were recorded, Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) and Wacy Crenshaw each hit two-run singles to up the Catch total to nine. Gavin Stroud (Tulane) started on the mound for the Academy, allowing one run on four hits while striking out two over four innings.
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Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Pasadena, CA
Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) hit a home run, a triple and a double and drove in three runs, Bart West (USC) hit a home run, a single and scored twice, and a trio of relief pitchers bent but did not break, stranding seven runners, five in scoring position over the final four innings to lead the Conejo Oaks to a 7-5 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Lewis, the league’s top hitter with a .420 average, was a single shy of hitting for the cycle. His home run, a solo shot in the third inning, got the Oaks their first run to make the score 2-1 after the Saints took the first lead on a second inning two-run home run by Angelo Armenta (San Diego St). The Saints answered Lewis’ home run with two more runs in their half of the third inning, scoring on a Nic Lacayo (Michigan St) RBI-double and Armenta driving in his third run of the game with a two-out single. Conejo took the lead for good in their next at bat when West hit his home run and, after two walks and a fielder’s choice, Lewis drove in two with his triple and then scored on a Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) single to make the score 5-4. Aiden Dolan, who was the starting pitcher for the Oaks, striking out three in five innings, retired the last seven batters he faced, including one on the bases after reaching on an error to earn the win, before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. Eric Ma (Whitman College) was the first Oaks reliever, pitching around two singles and a walk to strand two in a scoreless sixth inning and, after surrendering a leadoff home run in the seventh to Tristan Peterson, struck out one batter and walked another before being relieved by Jackson Simonsgaard (Roger St), who pitched around a catcher’s interference and a walk to strand three runners without further damage. Simonsgaard recorded one out and allowed a single in the eighth inning before Angus Denton (Arkansas) took over pitching, and Denton retired the first two batters he faced to strand a runner in scoring position and then pitched a scoreless ninth, stranding another runner in scoring position, to close out the win. Conejo had scored their winning margin runs in the fifth inning when Zach Kaminkow (UNLV) singled to drive in West, who had singled, and then Kaminkow scored on an error.
July 15, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) threw seven shutout innings, striking out seven without allowing a walk, Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) tripled and scored in the first inning and Jay Charleston (Tennessee) tripled and scored in the eighth to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 2-0 win over the Southern California Catch today at Sinsheimer Park, sweeping the four-game series between the two teams and winning their seventh game in a row. Sherlin scattered six hits in his seven-inning start, really scattered them. He allowed a hit in all but one of his innings yet never allowed a second in any of the innings. He retired the leadoff hitter to start every inning, allowed almost all of the hits with one out and, in every one of those instances, he retired the next two batters he faced after giving up a hit, three times striking out the last two batters of an inning. Only once did Sherlin retire the side in order and only once did he face more than four batters in an inning, the seventh, when he retired the first two batters, hit a batter and surrendered a two-out single to Deylen Miley (Tiffin). Sherlin retired the next batter to hand a 1-0 lead over to Cameron Ziegler, who allowed two hits but maintained the shutout for one and two-thirds innings, and Mario Lopez, who retired the only batter he faced to close out the win. The Blues jumped out to an early lead when Jones tripled with one out and scored on an RBI-groundout by Brian Klein (Texas Tech) off of Catch starting pitcher Riley Watkins (Shelton State), who would go on to strikeout eight in his four innings of work. San Luis, who was outhit by the Catch eight to four, scored an insurance run in their last at bat when Charleston hit his triple and scored on an error on the play.
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Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Thousand Oaks, CA
Josh Nicoloff (Columbia) singled to lead off the twelfth inning, advanced to second when the next batter walked and scored the go-ahead run when Matthew Cooper (Clemson) hit a one-out single, and Brandon Ivey (Texas) pitched two scoreless innings to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 10-8 win over the Conejo Oaks in a game suspended June 28 after ten innings with the score tied due to darkness and resumed today at Sparky Anderson Field before the regularly scheduled meeting between the two teams.
In the regularly scheduled game, Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) drove in four runs with a three-run home run and an RBI-double and Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) hit a solo home, two singles and scored three times to lead the Oaks to a 11-7 win. Lewis’ and Aexander’s home runs, coming in the eighth and seventh innings, respectively, gave the Oaks an 11-1 lead, seemingly a plenty-big lead with only three outs to get. But those four runs proved to be the difference in the game as the Riptide scored six times in the ninth inning on seven hits, including a two-run double by Bradley Jekich (Pacific), an RBI-double by Austin Sojka (OK Wesleyan) and run-scoring singles by Masen Hibbeler (Texas) and Bradley Alamo (Stony Brook). Joe Torres (UC Davis) entered the game for the Oaks with two outs in the ninth inning in relief of Daniel Tobias (LA Pierce College), who had started the inning, and Torres retired the only batter he faced to close out the win. The Oaks had jumped out to a 7-0 lead after scoring twice in the fourth inning when a bases-loaded walk and a fielder’s choice plated two, and five times in the fifth when Lewis hit his double, Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss), Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) and Michael Tilman (Cal St LA) singled in runs and Drew Sims (Utah Valley) hit a sacrifice fly. Justin Friedman started on the mound for Conejo, allowing one run on six hits while striking out four in six innings. The only run Friedman allowed came in the sixth inning when Hibbeler hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on an Alamo two-out single. Nick Rincover (Pierce College) and Eric Ma (Whitman College) then threw one scoreless inning apiece in relief of Friedman before the ninth inning mayhem. Ryan Sublette (Texas Tech) was the Orange County starter, pitching three scoreless innings with two strikeouts before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. Alamo, who also had a single in the fourth inning, and Alexander finished with a game-high three hits each.
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Pasadena, CA
Desmond Gates (West LA JC) and Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) each singled three times and the Academy Barons rallied for nine runs in one inning in route to beating the Arroyo Seco Saints 14-8 today at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Gates scored the opening run of the game after leading off with the first of four consecutive singles by the Barons, the last of which was a two-run version by Garrett Ouellette (San Bernardino). Wilson led off the nine-run sixth inning with a single and then singled in two runs when his spot in the order came around again nine batters later with the bases-loaded and still only one out. Gates added an RBI-single in the sixth, Trent Anderson (Bakersfield) drove in a pair with a single, Bruce Martin (Stetson) drove in with a double, two scored on an error and another scored on a bases-loaded hit batsmen to account for the nine runs. The rally opened up a 14-3 lead for Barons starting pitcher Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills) who went six and two-thirds innings, allowing six hits while striking out five. Hereford was scored upon in only one of his innings, the third, when Tristan Peterson, Cameron Briggs (UC Davis) and Colin Shepherd (Miami-Ohio) each hit RBI-singles to give the Saints the lead 3-2. The Academy tied the score in the fourth inning when Hunter Lewis (Indiana State) singled and eventually scored on an error, and took a two-run lead when another error plated one and Lewis got his second RBI of the game with a groundout. The Saints batted around in an inning themselves today, in the eighth inning, scoring five runs when Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) led off the inning with a home run, Brennan McKenzie (Cal Poly Pomona) hit a two-run single and Jack Smith (ASU) and Briggs each hit RBI-singles, but it was too little too late, as Alonzo Billups (Santa Clara) came in to pitch for the Barons with two outs left in the inning and retired the first two batters he faced to end the rally, and three of four batters in the ninth to close out the win. Wyatt Kelley (New Mexico St) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out two in four and a third innings.
July 14, 2018
Compton, CA
Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) hit a two-out, two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning as the Academy Barons scored eight runs in their last three at bats to overcome an 11-4 deficit and beat the Arroyo Seco Saints 12-11 today at the MLB Youth Academy. Lucio’s dramatic moment was possible because Joshua Banuelos (Peru State) got on base with a one-out single to represent the tying run, but also because the Barons had scored once in the eighth inning when Desmond Gates (West LA JC) led off with a double and scored on a Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) RBI-single, and because the Academy scored five times in the seventh when Hunter Lewis (Indiana State) hit a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double, Trevor Mattson (Arcadia) hit an RBI-triple and scored on a passed ball. Furthermore, Andy Rosales (El Camino) and Nik Galatas (Jackson St) had held the Saints scoreless for the final five innings to allow the comeback to unfold. The Saints scored all of their eleven runs in two rallies in the third and fourth innings, with all but one of the runs coming with two outs. Dalton Ney (Lee), Bryce Gray (Norte Dame) and Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) hit consecutive two-out RBI-doubles to drive in five runs in the third inning and, after Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) hit an RBI-single with one out in the fourth, Gray and Williams delivered again with two outs, Gray hitting a bases-clearing three-run double to post a game-high five RBI, and Williams hitting an RBI-single to give Arroyo Seco a comfortable 11-4 lead. The Academy had scored four two-out runs of their own in their half of the third inning to get on the board and to portend of things to come when Lucio led off with a triple, a Joseph Argumedo (Lynn University) singled plated two, an error and a wild pitched plated two more. Colin King (Regis) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco and allowed the four early Barons’ runs on seven hits while striking out two. Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb) started for the Barons, giving up five runs on five hits while striking out four. Jacob Jenkins (MidAm Nazarene) and Gates each hit a double and two singles to finish with a game-high three hits.
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Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Pasadena, CA
Cassius Hamm (Northridge) pitched five scoreless innings, striking out four and, at one point, retiring eleven batters in a row, Robby Evans (St. Edwards) pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) hit a two-run home run to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 6-1 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Fullerton College. The only run that Hamm and Evans allowed came in the sixth inning with the Riptide already leading 3-0. Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) and Jordan McFarland (Arkansas) singled of Hamm to leadoff the inning and Bart West (USC) drove in Alexander with a one-out single. It was the only real trouble Hamm found himself in all day as he had, in his first five innings, allowed only one runner to advance into scoring position, pitching around singles in the first and second innings without trouble. The single by Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) to lead off the second inning was the last baserunner the Oaks would see for a while as Hamm retired the next three batters in the inning in order, retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings, and the first two in the fifth. Evans was just as effective as Hamm in throwing scoreless innings, but he faced much more trying circumstances as the Oaks put runners in scoring position in each of the three innings he pitched. Evans pitched around two singles in the seventh by striking out three, stranded runners at second and third base in the eighth, and escaped any damage in the ninth despite walking the bases loaded to close out the win. Oaks starting pitcher Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) was equal to Hamm through the first three innings, surrendering only a Thomas Delgadilo double with two outs in the second, but the Riptide plated three runs in the fourth when Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) tripled to lead off the inning, Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) singled in Curry and Bandy hit his home run. Curry would again get things started for Orange County in the sixth by hitting a leadoff double, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly, and a Masen Hibbeler (Texas) RBI-double and a run-producing groundout in the eighth completed the scoring.
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San Luis Obispo, CA
Thomas Triantos (Cal Poly), Clark Eder (San Diego St) and Chase Walter (Western Carolina) combined for eleven strikeouts, Brian Klein (Texas Tech) tripled, doubled and drove in two runs and Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) had three hits and drove in two to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to an 8-2 win over the Southern California Catch today at Sinsheimer Park in the first game of a doubleheader between the two teams. Traintos started on the mound for San Luis and didn’t allow a hit, retiring ten batters in a row at one point, until the fourth inning when Grant Robbins (UNLV) hit an RBI-single with two outs to drive in a runner from second who had walked and advanced on a walk. Triantos, who struck out five in his five innings of work, then retired four of the next five batters, pitching around a bunt single in the fifth, before turning the pitching duties over to Eder. Eder also struck out five in his three innings and the only blemish on his outing was a leadoff double by David Martinez (Austin Peay) in the seventh, who advanced to third on a third-strike play to first and scored on a wild pitch. Walter pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out one, to close out the win. The Blues led from the start after scoring two unearned runs in the first, Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) driving in one with an RBI-single, and adding another unearned run in the second. They added a run in the seventh inning when Klein led off with his triple and scored on a Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) double, and scored four times in the eighth when Jones hit a two-run single and Klein followed him with a two-run double. Matt Reitz (Covenant College) started on the mound for the Catch, allowing three runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out three. Jay Charleston (Tennessee) was on base four times out of five plate appearances for the Blues, scoring a game-high three runs.
Matt Anderson (Georgia Southern) hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie, Lipcius had two hits and three RBI, and Marco Murillo (Campbellsville) hit two RBI-singles as the Blues swept the doubleheader against the Catch tonight, winning the nightcap 8-4. Anderson’s home run drove in Klein, who had reached base after getting hit by a pitch, and was followed, after two Catch errors put a runner in scoring position, by a Justin Lutes (Pepperdine) RBI-single that put the Blues up 7-4. Murillo’s second RBI-single of the night came with two outs in the ninth inning after San Luis loaded the bases via a pair of hit batsmen and a walk. The Catch had taken an early 2-0 lead in this game, scoring one run in each of the first two innings on RBI-singles by Martinez and RJ Lan (TCU) and, after the Blues got within one in the third inning when Jones, who had three singles in both games today, singled to lead off the inning, advanced first-to-third on a single by Klein and scored on a Lipcius RBI-groundout, the Catch scored twice more in the fifth inning on RBI-singles by Jake Boone (Princeton), who finished with a game-high four hits, and Andrew Bourgeois (Biola) to take a 4-1 lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as San Luis loaded the bases with one out on Jones’ third single of the game and a pair of walks and Lipcius drove in two with a single and Murillo got his first RBI with a single to tie the score. Tj Mullins (Grayson), Cameron Ziegler and Chase Walter (Western Carolina) combined to strike out six and held the Catch scoreless over the last four innings in relief of starter Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St), who collected six strikeouts over five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits. Zac Filos started on the mound for the Catch and struck out five in four and a third innings, allowing four runs on nine hits.
July 13, 2018
Pasadena, CA
Brennan McKenzie (Cal Poly Pomona) hit a three-run home and a pair of RBI-singles, Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) doubled twice and drove in two runs and Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) hit a two-run double to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 13-3 win over the Academy Barons tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. McKenzie’s home run was the capstone to the Saints seven-run sixth inning that broke open a 5-2 game. All seven of the Saints runs in the inning were unearned, all coming after a runner reached on an error and another reached on a walk and two outs were recorded. Then Jack Smith (ASU) hit an RBI-single, a bases-loaded hit batsmen forced in a run, Cowley hit a two-run double and McKenzie hit his three-run blast to put the Saints up 12-2. Jacob Jenkins (MidAm Nazarene), who came in to pitch for the Saints to start the fifth inning in relief of starter Charles Peacock (Galveston JC), who allowed two runs on three hits over four innings while striking out two, was the beneficiary of the run support. Jenkins pitched three scoreless innings, stranding runners in scoring position in each frame before being relieved by JD Russomano (Corban), who pitched the last two innings, allowing one run but no hits, to close out the win. The Saints opened the scoring in the second inning when Dalton Ney (Lee) doubled and scored on a Bennett McCaskill (Dartmouth) RBI-single and, after the Barons scored two unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning, Arroyo Seco took the lead for good in their half of the fourth, scoring four times when Cowley led off with a double and scored on McKenzie’s first RBI-single, Bryce Gray (Notre Dame) and McCaskill singled and scored on Williams’ double, and Williams scored on a error to make the score 5-2. Jake Binder (Ithaca College) started on the mound for the Academy, notching five strikeouts in four innings, but allowed five runs on seven hits and suffered the loss.
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Elsewhere in the CCL today:
Santa Barbara, CA
Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) struck out six and Bryce Elder (Texas) struck out five in four-inning pitching stints and Luke Ritter (Wichita St) homered for the second day in a row to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 4-2 win over the Orange County Riptide today at Pershing Park. The win, the 22nd against three losses this CCL season, assures Santa Barbara will finish the regular season with the best record in the league and clinches them the number one seed in the four-team single-elimination CCL Playoffs set for July 29-30 in Thousand Oaks. Wolf, one of the league’s top pitching prospects this year, started true to form today by striking out four in two scoreless innings but ran into trouble in the third inning when Matthew Cooper (Clemson) hit a lead-off single and scored on a Aaron Simpson (Ball State) double with one out. Wolf righted things for a bit, retiring the last two batters of the third inning without incident and the first two batters of the fourth before walking three batters in a row to load the bases with two outs. Wolf escaped that situation unscathed by inducing a groundout to end the inning and turned the pitching duties over to Elder to start the fifth inning. Elder dominated early in his four-inning stint as well, retiring ten of the first eleven batters he faced before three consecutive one-out singles, including one for an RBI by Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist). And, like Wolf before him, Elder limited the damage by retiring the next two batters in order and stranding a runner in scoring position. Ritter’s home run, a solo shot in the first inning, opened the scoring for the Foresters and put an exclamation on what he did last night in Fullerton against this same team when he hit for the cycle. But unlike last night when Santa Barbara tallied 18 runs against the Riptide, they would have to grind out runs one at a time to win tonight. Hayden Pearce (Pacific), the starting pitcher for Orange County, except for Ritter’s home run, held his own against the Foresters offense for the most part and was scuttled a bit by the defense behind him, allowing a single run in the third inning when Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) singled and advanced to third on a two-base error and scored on an infield grounder, and another in the sixth when Ritter worked a leadoff walk, stole second base, advanced to third on an error and scored on Cam Warren’s (Texas Tech) third single of the game. Chase Illig (West Virginia) scored the fourth and last run of the game for Santa Barbara after leading off the inning with a single, advancing to third on another Riptide two-base error before scoring on a Conor Davis (Auburn) RBI-single. Dane Acker (Rice) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win.
San Luis Obispo, CA
Jordan Chriss (Columbia) pitched five scoreless innings, Mario Lopez pitched four scoreless innings, Marco Murillo (Campbellsville) hit a two-run home run and Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) singled and scored the game-winning run in the twelfth inning to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues to a 3-2 win over the Southern California Catch tonight at Sinsheimer Park in a game that had to be delayed by an hour because the bus transporting the Catch lost two tires in route to the game and the team had to wait on the side of Highway 101 for a replacement bus to arrive and deliver them to the game. Chriss started on the mound for the Blues, struck out five and scattered four hits before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. San Luis got on the scoreboard first when Murillo hit his home run in the second inning, driving in Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) who had reached base on a fielder’s choice. Murillo’s homer was the second and last hit the Blues would get until the eleventh inning when Dane Stankiewicz (Grand Canyon), who had also singled in the first, and Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) singled but could not score the winning run. Caleb Bly (Oklahoma Baptist) was the starting pitcher for the Catch, throwing six innings with seven strikeouts and two walks, retiring 14 of the last 16 batters he faced and being replaced on the mound trailing 2-1 after the Catch scored once in the sixth inning when Jacob Rogers (UNLV) singled with one out and David Martinez (Austin Peay) doubled him home with two outs. Gabe Constantine, who came into pitch to start the sixth inning in relief of Chriss, struck out four in three innings of work and was on the mound when the Catch tied the score in the seventh when two errors put runners on the corners and a sacrifice fly made the score 2-2. Lopez pitched the last four innings for the Blues, retiring twelve of the 14 batters he faced and striking out six to earn the win. Declan Kearney (Azusa Pacific) was equally as good as Lopez over the same number of innings, striking out six over four scoreless, but in his fifth inning of work, the twelfth inning, Lipcius led off with a single, stole second base, advanced to third on an error and, after Kearney struck out his seventh batter and an intentional walk setup a potential inning-ending double-play, Matt Anderson (Georgia Southern) pinch-hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Lipcius and give the Blues a walk-off win.