June 19, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA

The San Luis Obispo Blues batted around in two innings, scoring eight runs in the first inning and six times in the eighth en route to beating the Academy Barons 14-5 tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Five Barons errors combined with four singles and an RBI-double by Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) resulted in the first-inning run around the bases, and five walks, a hit batsmen and a pair of two-run singles by Blayne Jones (Dallas Baptist) and Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) led to the eighth inning outburst. While the score was decidedly lopsided, the two offenses were fairly even. San Luis Obispo hitters totaled twelve hits while the Barons came up with eleven. The big difference was the shut-down ability of the Blues pitchers. The Barons put runners on bases via hits in eight of the nine innings tonight but ended up leaving eleven runners on base. Blues starting pitcher Frankie Scalzo (San Jose St) scattered four hits over four innings of work, striking out five, before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen, highlighted by a two strikeout scoreless ninth inning appearance by Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist).

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Pasadena, CA

Aaron Simpson (Ball State) had three singles and two runs scored, including scoring the go-ahead run from first base in the seventh inning on a Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) two-out RBI double to lead the Orange County Riptide to a 3-2 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Riptide had been chasing down an early 2-0 deficit for most of the game after Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) drove in a pair of runs with a one-out RBI-double in the first inning for the Saints. Orange County got on the board in the second inning when Jake Pries (UCLA) doubled to lead off the inning, stole third base and scored on an error to make the score 2-1. For the next three innings Saints starting pitcher Colin King (Regis) would allow only two batters to reach bases, both via singles, one of which was erased on a double-play, before leaving the game with the Saints in the lead. The pitching and defense from the other dugout was just as stingy, however. The Riptide sent eight different pitchers to the mound tonight and, besides the two first inning runs allowed, stranded eight Saints baserunners without giving up a run over the final eight innings, including picking two baserunners off third on throws from Riptide catcher Chase Sebby (Ball State). Orange County got the equalizing run in the sixth inning when Simpson led off with a single, advanced station-to-station on a walk and a Pries single before scoring with two outs on an error to tie the score 2-2. Simpson started things again in the seventh inning, collecting his third hit with two outs before scoring the go-ahead run on Bandy’s double. Williams, who also singled in third inning and doubled in the fifth, matched Simpson with a game-high three hits.

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Thousand Oaks, CA

The Santa Barbara Foresters withstood a late-inning charge by the Conejo Oaks to win their seventh game without a loss this season, beating the Oaks 6-5 today at Sparky Anderson Field. With Santa Barbara leading 6-1 with six outs to get, the Oaks scored once in the eighth inning when Chase Cockrell (Ole Miss) led off with a double, his game-high fourth hit, and who would later score on a wild pitch. The Oaks then rallied for three more runs in the ninth, sending eight batters to the plate and stranding two aboard before Garrett Crochet (Tennessee), who was brought into pitch for the final three outs, struck out his third batter of the inning to close out the win for Santa Barbara. Bryce Vitt‘s bases-loaded two-run single and an RBI-single by Bart West (USC), both with two outs, were the big hits for the Oaks in the rally that just fell short. Santa Barbara, after scoring an unearned run in the second inning, opened up their lead with a pair of runs on three singles in the fourth, and three more hits, including an RBI-double by Andrew Wiss (Air Force) and a run-scoring single by Brandon Zaragoza (Oklahoma), which plated three more runs in the fifth. Foresters starting pitcher Conner Woods (UNLV) threw three scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to James Notary (TCU) who picked up the win in relief, striking out four batters over three innings of work. Five Conejo pitchers combined to strikeout twelve, with starter Brandon Ponticelli (Kansas) being saddled with the loss.

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June 17, 2018
Thousand Oaks, CA

Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) notched eight strikeouts over five innings and RBI-singles by four hitters in the fifth inning led the Conejo Oaks to a 9-1 victory over the Academy Barons today at Sparky Anderson Field. Francis scattered three hits over his five-inning start, two of which plated the only run of the game for the Barons in the first inning, a one-out single by Trent Anderson (CSU Bakersfield) and a two-out RBI-double by Garrett Ouellette (CSU Bakersfield). From there Francis got stronger as his outing progressed, striking out one in the second inning with a runner in scoring position, two more in the third and striking out the last four batters he faced over the course of the fourth and fifth innings. After the Oaks took advantage of a hit batsmen, a walk and two Academy errors to score twice and take the lead in the second inning, Conejo scored five times in the fifth inning to take command of the game when Tyler Ryan (Pacific), Michael Spears (Ole Miss), Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) and Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) all came through with RBI-singles. The Oaks bullpen took command of the game from that point forward as John Vergara, Eric Ma (Whitman College), Nick Rincover (Pierce College) and Gerry Ramirez (Glendale JC) took their turn pitching a scoreless inning to close out the win, combining to allow only two hits and four total baserunners, two of which were caught stealing. The final two Oaks runs came when Bryce Vitt tripled with one out in the seventh inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly, and in the eighth when Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) doubled, advanced to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.

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Santa Barbara, CA

Ryan Cash (Oklahoma St) tripled and scored in the first inning, Michael Neustifier (Oklahoma State) singled and scored in the second, and a five-pitcher rotation made the two runs hold up as the Santa Barbara Foresters beat the San Luis Obispo Blues 3-1 today at Pershing Park. It was the second time in as many days the Foresters pitching staff thwarted the Blues offense. After six pitchers combined to no-hit San Luis Obispo last night, the five pitchers today were in more of a bend-but-not-break mode. After being retired in order for the first two innings by Santa Barbara starting pitcher Brett Standlee (Oklahoma State), the Blues started putting offensive pressure on the Foresters, putting runners into scoring position in six of the last seven innings. After Standlee retired the first seven batters he faced in order, Jay Charleston (Tennessee) singled in the third inning and scored when Auston Chastain (Fresno St) tripled with two outs. That would be the only run the Blues would muster off of Santa Barbara pitching in the two game set. Standlee, who would pitch five innings today, left two runners in scoring position in the fourth inning after Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) and Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) hit consecutive singles to lead off the inning and were sacrificed into scoring position, but Standlee struck out one and got a line-out to escape unscathed. Charleston led off the fifth inning with a another single and, after he was erased on a caught-stealing, Standlee induced two ground ball outs before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. As they had done last night, the Foresters relievers were nearly unhittable. Hunter Breault (Oregon) pitched two innings scoreless, allowing the only hit, a double by Brandon Frazier (Georgia Gwinnett) to lead off the seventh inning, the Blues would get the rest of the game. Jackson Wolf (West Virginia), the fourth Santa Barbara pitcher used in the game, faced the toughest situation, entering the game with two runners aboard via walks in the eighth inning and no outs, but he also escaped unscathed, inducing two infield pop-ups and striking out one. Chase Wallace (Tennessee) struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning of work to close out the win for Santa Barbara. The Foresters offense got the two runs they needed to win the game in the first and second innings, and added an insurance run in the seventh. Cash’s one-out triple in the first led to the first run, Neustifier scored in the second after he singled and advanced station-to-station to third base on a walk and a Kameron Guangorena (Cal St Fullerton) single, and advanced to home on a two-out bases-loaded walk. Santa Barbara scored their third run when Guangorena singled again and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.

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June 16, 2018
Santa Barbara, CA

Six pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter, facing only four batters over the minimum for a perfect game, as the Santa Barbara Foresters blanked the San Luis Obispo Blues 5-0 tonight at Pershing Park. Caleb Sloan (TCU) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and threw the first four no-hit innings, striking out eight and allowing three walks, one of which was erased on a ground ball double play. Garrett Crochet (Tennessee), Conner Woods (UNLV), Jackson Wolf (West Virginia), James Notary (TCU) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) then each took their turn, each throwing a hitless inning. As a staff, the Foresters pitchers recorded a combined 14 strikeouts and only one runner, Brandon Frazier (Georgia Gwinnett) reached as far as second base having walked and advanced on a passed ball. The Santa Barbara hitters did little more than the San Luis offense through the first four innings but, in the fifth, they got all the runs they would need when Utah Jones (North Greenville) hit a two-run home run, driving in Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) who had walked to lead off the inning. The Foresters scored three more times in the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a hit batsmen in front of a Cash two-run single and a Michael Neustifter (Oklahoma State) RBI-double. Cole Tucker started on the mound for the Blues and kept pace with Sloan in scoreless innings until Jones’ home run in the fifth inning saddled him with the loss.

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Compton, CA

Four pitchers combined to throw a shutout and Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) came through with a clutch two-out single with the bases loaded to drive in the only runs of the game as the Academy Barons beat the Arroyo Seco Saints 2-0 tonight at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb) started on the mound for the Barons, scattering six hits and two walks over four-plus innings while striking out four. Gutierrez’ outing was anything but smooth sailing. He faced situations with runners in scoring position in three innings and, when the Saints loaded the bases against him with one out in the fifth inning via a John Thomas (USC) single and two walks, Gutierrez turned the pitching duties over to Kyle Salley (Duke) who induced an inning-ending ground ball double-play. Salley then struck out the side in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless seventh before Joshua Stephens (Beaufort) and Ryan Hare (UNLV) each retired the side in order for one inning to secure the Barons win. Blake Beers (Michigan), the starting pitcher for Arroyo Seco tonight, was perfect through three innings before Trent Anderson (CSU Bakersfield) opened the fourth inning with a lead-off double. Two walks and two outs later Wilson, who would also triple later in the game, came up with the bases loaded and delivered what would turn out to be the game-winning hit. Wilson, Thomas and Alex LeForestier (Pacific) had two hits apiece and were the only players to record multiple-hit games.

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Thousand Oaks, CA

The game between the Conejo Oaks and the Southern California Catch today was suspended due to darkness after nine innings with the score tied 4-4. Stats for this game will be reported when the game is resumed at a later date to be determined.

June 15, 2018
Thousand Oaks, CA

Cade Smith (Hawaii) pitched five scoreless innings and Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) hit a two-run home run and an RBI-single to lead the Southern California Catch to 7-2 victory over the Conejo Oaks today at Sparky Anderson Field. Smith allowed only three baserunners, two on singles by Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) and Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso), and one runner reach on an error. Other than that, Smith was perfect, retiring the Oaks hitters in order three of his five innings, and striking out three. Jung opened the scoring for the Catch in the first inning, getting on base via a walk, advancing to third on a single and a walk, before scoring on a sacrifice fly. After the Catch scored twice more in the second inning, taking advantage of two Conejo errors, Jung hit a two-out two-run home run to make the score 5-0. Then, after the Oaks scored an unearned run of their own in the seventh inning, Jung came through again in the eighth inning, driving in the seventh run for the Catch with a single. Bart West (USC) hit a two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth inning to post the final 7-2 score. Anthony Mayorga, Zac Filos and Tayt Smith (Azusa Pacific) struck out four batters over the last four innings in relief of Smith to secure the Catch win.

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Fullerton, CA

Chase Sebby (Ball State) singled with one out in the ninth inning and scored the tying run on a Aaron Simpson (Ball State) two-out single and, when the throw from the outfield caromed off the second base bag, Paul Gomez (Missouri), who had reached on a walk and had gone first-to-third on Simpson’s hit, scored the winning run and the Orange County Riptide posted a 5-4 walk-off win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Fullerton College. The Saints had a 4-3 lead heading into the final inning, having taken advantage of two Riptide errors, two walks, a hit batsmen and an RBI-single by Jacob Jenkins (MidAm Nazarene) to score three times in the second inning, and added their fourth run when Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) doubled to lead off the fifth inning, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. Orange County scored their three earlier runs in the fourth inning when Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) singled and Matthew Cooper (Clemson) walked to lead off the inning and, when Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) followed with a single, an error allowed both Curry and Cooper to score and Sojka to end up at third base from where he would score on an RBI-groundout. Bryce Verplank (Texas) started on the mound for Orange County striking out eight batters in four innings before turning the pitching over to the Riptide bullpen. Corey Dawson (Westmont College), after allowing Cowley’s leadoff double and run, retired the next six batters in order, two on strikeouts. Daniel Zimmerman followed Dawson with two scoreless innings and Jacob Parker (Georgia Southern) pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the win, escaping a one-out bases load situation by striking out the final two batters he faced. Cameron Brown (Notre Dame) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out three, Reed Osborn (Howard JC) notched five strikeouts in three-plus innings in relief of Brown, and Joey Steele (USF) recorded four of his five outs via the strikeout before falling victim to the ball that hit second base and was credited with the loss.

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June 14, 2018
Fullerton, CA

Michael Hobbs (St. Mary’s) threw five scoreless inning, John Jensen (UC Irvine) homered for the second night in a row and Chase Illig (West Virginia) homered for the second time in three games as the Santa Barbara Foresters overwhelmed the Orange County Riptide 13-0 today at Fullerton College. Hobbs started on the mound and struck out six over his five innings of work, allowing only two singles by Bradley Jekich (Pacific) and Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), the first two batters he faced in the game. He then retired the next 15 batters in order, one of which reached base on a dropped third strike, before handing the pitching duties off to the Foresters bullpen who were almost as dominant and combined with Hobbs for a staff five-hit shutout with only one walk allowed. Meanwhile, the Foresters offense amassed 15 hits and scored double-digit runs for the third time in their four league games thus far in the season. Jensen, who hit a grand-slam and had five RBI in last night’s Foresters 9-3 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints in Pasadena, hit a two-out two-run home run to highlight Santa Barbara’s six-run third inning tonight that was generated by five consecutive two-out hits. Illig, who homered in Pasadena two nights previously, hit a solo version today in the seventh inning when the game was well in hand, making the score 10-0. Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) had three hits and two RBI, and Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith) reached safely in each of his four plate appearances, including hitting a triple and a run-scoring single to also lead the Foresters attack. Curry, with three singles, led the Riptide offense and was their only player with a multiple hit game. The four Santa Barbara relief pitchers, Bailey Reid (Westmont College), Miles Sandum, Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) each threw one scoreless inning today, with Wolf leading by striking out the side in the eighth inning and Wallace striking out two in the ninth.

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June 13, 2018
Compton, CA

Paul Gomez (Missouri) hit a two-out, bases-clearing three-run double, Shaq Robinson (Long Beach St) hit a pair of RBI-doubles and starting pitcher Colin Townsend (St. Louis) threw four scoreless innings with four strikeouts to lead the Orange County Riptide to an 8-4 victory over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Gomez’ double opened the scoring for the Riptide in the first inning and followed singles by Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) and Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) and a walk to give Orange County an early 3-0 lead. Bandy again set the table in the third inning, hitting the second of his and Curry’s game-high three hits and scoring on Robinson’s first double. In the fifth inning it was Curry’s turn to single and score on a Robinson double to make score 5-0. Meanwhile, Townsend was holding the Barons offense in check, allowing only two hits and one walk before turning the pitching duties over to the bullpen. After Matthew Cooper (Clemson) tripled with one out in the sixth inning and scored on a groundout to up the Riptide lead to 6-0, the Barons offense got on the board in the seventh when lead-off hitter Cameron Dean (Rockhurst) singled, advanced to third on a Trevor Mattson (Arcadia) double. Both runners would score on run-producing outs and the Academy would score twice more in the ninth inning on a Daniel Harris (Eastern Kentucky) RBI-triple and another RBI-groundout to produce their four-run total. Robinson drove in Curry in the ninth inning for his third RBI of the game to set the final score at 8-4. Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills) had three strikeouts in two innings of scoreless relief to highlight the Barons pitching.

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Pasadena, CA

John Jensen (UC Irvine) hit a grand-slam, doubled and singled, and Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith) scored three times and doubled in a pair of runs to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 9-3 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Jensen’s slam came in the third inning with the Foresters already leading 1-0 after Chase Illig (West Virginia) doubled and scored in the second, and followed a lead-off double by Christian Gambale (Air Force) and two walks to give the Foresters a 5-1 lead they would not relinquish. The Saints had tied the score in the bottom of the second inning when consecutive singles by Mitch Kerner and Nic Lacayo (Michigan St) got the Saints’ offense moving. Santa Barbara’s starting pitcher Dane Acker (Rice) limited the damage by getting a couple of groundouts and a baserunner was caught stealing to end the threat. Acker recorded three strikeouts over the first four innings before handing the ball to a trio of relievers who held Arroyo Seco scoreless in four of final five innings, Kerner’s RBI-double and a RBI fly ball by Lacayo in the sixth inning being the only exception. Logan figured in each of the Foresters last four runs of the game. He singled, stole second base, advanced to third on an error and scored on an RBI-groundout in the fifth inning; walked, stole second again, advance to third on a passed ball and scored on a Jensen single producing his fifth RBI of the game; and then Logan doubled home two runners who had reached via a walk in the eighth. Jensen and Kerner each finished with a game-high three hits.

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June 12, 2018
Pasadena, CA
Chase Illig (West Virginia) had three hits, including a three-run home run, and the Santa Barbara Foresters scored ten runs in the first three innings en route to beating the Arroyo Seco Saints 11-7 tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Illig reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances tonight, adding a double and a single to go along with his home run, in driving in a total of four runs for the game. As a team the Foresters collected 14 hits and, two other players, Logan Allen (Arkansas-Ft. Smith) and Luke Ritter (Wichita St) joined Illig with a game-high three hits. Ryan Cash (Oklahoma State) and Luke Coffey (Westmont College) had back-to-back run-scoring singles to highlight a four-run first inning for Santa Barbara, Illig’s home run was the big hit in the second inning, and John Jensen (UC Irvine) and Utah Jones (North Greenville) each drove in runs in the third to put the Foresters up 10-0. Arroyo Seco rallied, however, and got back into the game with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Saints took advantage of three walks and an error in the inning and added RBI-singles by John Thomas (USC) and Cooper Williams (New Mexico St) to generate the six runs. Brad Demco (Sam Houston State), the third pitcher to appear for Santa Barbara, came into the game with one out in the third inning to shut down the rally, and pitched two more scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, to pick up the win. Conner Woods (UNLV), Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) and Chase Wallace (Tennessee) allowed only one hit combined over the final four innings to secure the win for Santa Barbara. Arroyo Seco utilized four pitchers in the game with JD Russomano (Corban) having the best outing, notching four strikeouts in two scoreless innings.

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Fullerton, CA
Home runs by Steve Curry (Georgia Southern), Daniel Hawkins (Sonoma State) and Thomas Delgadilo highlighted a 16-hit attack as the Orange County Riptide beat the Academy Barons today at Fullerton College. Curry hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, on the heels of a lead-off double by Bradley Jekich (Pacific) to open the scoring. The Riptide held on to the 2-0 lead until the fourth inning as starting pitcher Hayden Pearce (Pacific) retired the first eleven Barons’ hitters he faced before a runner reached base on an error with two outs. The Barons took advantage of the miscue when, after the next batter was hit by a pitch, Jacob Shanks (UC Riverside) hit a three-run home run to give the Academy a 3-2 lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as Orange County scored two times in the bottom of the inning on a pair of RBI-doubles by Josh Nicoloff (Columbia) and Paul Gomez (Missouri) to make the score 4-3. The Barons tied the score in the fifth inning on a two-out, RBI-single by Trent Anderson (Cal St Bakersfield), and the Riptide took the lead again in the sixth on an RBI-single by Curry. Orange County finally took control of the game when Hawkins’ solo home run led off the seventh inning and was followed three batters later by Delgadilo’s three-run version, which drove in Nicoloff, who had walked, and Gomez, who had doubled for the second time. Jekich, Curry, Delgadilo and Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) each had a game-high three hits, Adam Cendejas (two singles) was the only Barons player to have a multiple-hit game, while Erik Gutierrez’ (Lipscomb) four strikeouts in two innings of relief highlighted the Academy’s pitching.

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June 10, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
The Arroyo Seco Saints scored runs in seven of nine innings, notched 13 hits and took advantage of nine walks to beat the San Luis Obispo Blues 14-6 today at Sinsheimer Park. Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) led the way offensively for the Saints, driving in five runs with a two-run double, a two-run single and an RBI-double, Christian Moya (USC) hit a two-run home run in the second inning and Tristan Peterson added a solo home run in the ninth. Cameron Brown (Notre Dame) started on the mound for Arroyo Seco, recording eight strikeouts in four innings of work to earn the win before turning pitching duties over to Michael Gomez (Cal Poly Pomona), Joey Steele (USF) and Reed Osborn (Howard JC) who combined to strikeout another eight Blues batters over the final five innings. Slade Heggen (Gonzaga) had a three-hit game, Justin Lutes (Pepperdine) had an RBI-single and a solo home run, and Josh Andrews (Grand Canyon) struck out five of the six outs he recorded to highlight the Blues performance today.

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Compton, CA
The Academy Barons scored three runs on four consecutive two-out singles and utilized four pitchers to allow only one run as the Barons beat the Conejo Oaks 3-1 today at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning, Joseph Argumedo (Lynn), Hunter Lewis (Indiana State), Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) and Trevor Mattson (Arcadia) either drove in a run or kept the two-out rally going to take over the score 3-1. Anthony Nettles (Clark) started on the mound for the Barons, notching five strikeouts in five innings of work before turning the pitching duties over to Gavin Stroud, Joshua Stephens (Beaufort) and Kris Keach (Cal State LA) who allowed only one hit in four innings combined. The only blemish on the scoreboard against the Barons came in the second inning when Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) led off with a double, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a sacrifice fly. Wilson had a game-high three hits, Lewis and Joshua Banuelos (Peru St) each had two, and no Oaks player had a multiple-hit game. Brandon Ponticelli (Kansas) started on the mound for Conejo and was saddled with the loss, recording four strikeouts in two-plus innings before being relieved in the third inning by Dylan Francis (Cal Poly Pomona) who threw three-plus scoreless innings while striking out five.

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Santa Barbara, CA
Brett Standlee (Oklahoma State) notched six strikeouts in three innings, Chase Illig (West Virginia) had three hits, including a solo home run in the third inning and a two-out RBI-single to drive in the first run of the game as the Santa Barbara Foresters beat the Healdsburg Prune Packers 11-7 today at Pershing Park. Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts) had three hits, Luke Ritter (Wichita St) hit a two-run double and John Jensen (UC Irvine) hit a two-run triple to lead the Foresters 14-hit attack. Trailing 7-1 heading into the sixth inning, Healdsburg rallied for five runs to get within one, taking advantage of two walks, an error and a Cole Brodnansky RBI-double to make the score 7-6, but Santa Barbara answered right back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, sparked by a lead-off double by Andrew Wiss (Air Force) and Ritter’s two-run double. Healdsburg’s Quentin Selma (Cal) hit three singles to match Illig and Coffey for game-high honors.

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La Mirada, CA
Six Southern California Catch pitchers combined to throw a three-hit shutout, recording ten strikeouts, and Grant Robbins (UNLV) hit a two-out RBI-double in the first inning to lead the Catch to a 3-0 win over the Orange County Riptide today at Biola University.

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June 9, 2018

San Luis Obispo, CA
Dane Tofteland (Indiana State) walked with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, stole second base and scored on a single by Cole Brodnansky, his third consecutive single in the game, to ruin a late-inning comeback as the Healdsburg Prune Packers beat the San Luis Obispo Blues 8-7 today at Sinsheimer Park. Trailing 7-4 heading into their half of the eighth inning, the Blues got consecutive singles by Luc Lipcius (Tennessee) and Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) to get things started. An error, three walks and two pitching changes later, San Luis had scored three times and tied the score 7-7. Chrit Rudkin (Montevallo), who was the third Healdsburg pitcher inserted into the game in the eighth inning, got the final out in the eighth and then retired three in a row in the ninth, all on groundouts and an outing-total of ten pitches to earn the win. Chase Gardner (UConn), last year’s CCL Pitcher of the Year, started on the mound for Healdsburg, recording four strikeouts in three-plus innings, before turning pitching duties over to Henrik Reinertsen (Pacific), who matched Gardner’s strikeout and innings pitched totals. Both pitchers were vulnerable for one inning, however, as Gardner got saddled with three runs earned in the fourth inning, surrendering back-to-back doubles by Conagher Sands (Cal Poly) and Lipcius to lead off the inning, a walk and getting two fly ball outs before being replaced by Reinertsen. Jay Charleston (Tennessee) welcomed Reinertsen to the game with a single and Auston Chastain (Fresno St) followed with a two-run double. The four-run fourth inning put the Blues back in the game after trailing 5-0 as the Packers scored five times in the second inning on four singles, a hit batsmen, a fielder’s choice and one walk. Healdsburg scored twice more in the sixth inning on an RBI-double by Sam Wezniak (Cal) and a run-scoring groundout to make the score 7-4, setting up the Blues’ eighth inning three-run rally and Brodnansky’s game-winning hit. Healdsburg’s Kevin Sandri (Pacific) finished with a game-high three hits.

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Fullerton, CA
Austin Sojka (Ok Wesylan) went four-for-five with three RBI, Steve Curry (Georgia Southern) had a pair of doubles, a single and two RBI and four pitchers combined to throw a two-hit shutout as the Orange County Riptide blanked the Southern California Catch 9-0 today at Fullerton College. Colin Townsend (St. Louis), Doug Magee, Corey Dawson (Westmont College) and Zach Bromstead (Mt. SAC) allowed only two singles, both by Kristian Franklin (Grambling St), and only allowed a total of seven baserunners while striking out a combined four batters. The Riptide jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sojka drove in Curry, who had led off the inning with his first double, with a two-out RBI-single. Orange County took advantage of a pair of Catch errors to score two times in the third inning, and twice more in the fourth inning when Sojka drove in two more with a two-out single. The Riptide put the game out of reach by scoring four runs in the seventh inning, twice scoring on a Sojka double, and once when Thomas Delgadilo drove in Sojka with a double of his own.

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Compton, CA
Brandon Lewis (UC Irvine) hit an two-out, RBI-single in the top of the eleventh inning to drive in Tanner Wright (Cal Lutheran), who had led off the inning with a bunt single, with the go-ahead run, and John Vergara struck out the side in the bottom of the inning as the Conejo Oaks beat the Academy Barons today 8-7 at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Vergara, who entered the game to pitch in the eleventh, earned the save while Angus Denton (Arkansas) picked up the win by tossing three scoreless innings, striking out three, after entering the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, just after Wright had tied the score at 7-7 with an RBI-double, one of his three hits on the game. Conejo had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Ramon Gomez (Oxnard College) in the first inning, but that only lasted until the third inning when Joshua Banuelos (Peru St) drove in the Barons first run with an RBI-single to tie the score. Both teams then matched four-run rallies in the fourth inning. A two-out, two-run home run by Elijah Alexander (Rio Grande Valley) was the big hit for the Oaks, a two-out double by Banuelos, who also had a game-high three hits, and a two-out, two-run single by Logan Pollack (Michigan) were the big hits for the Barons. The Academy took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Andrew Wilson (Marymount-NAIA) and Roosevelt Barnes (Morehouse College) both singled and scored, and the Oaks answered with one run in the top of the sixth when Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) singled and scored to set up Wright’s double in the eighth to send the game into extra innings. Kyle Salley (Duke) had four strikeouts in three innings of relief for Barons starting pitcher Spencer Hereford (Dominguez Hills) who went four innings, before turning pitching duties over to Ryan Hare (UNLV) who pitched the final four innings and was pinned with the loss.

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June 8, 2018

Thousand Oaks, CA
Erik Gutierrez (Lipscomb) recorded eleven strikeouts over four innings of relief pitching, and Hunter Lewis (Indiana State) and Kyle Salley (Duke) each had big RBI-hits to lead the Academy Barons to a 5-2 win over the Conejo Oaks today at Sparky Anderson Field. Gutierrez, who came into the game in relief of Barons’ starting pitcher Nikelle Galatas (Jackson St), was virtually untouchable over the four innings he pitched to close out the win. Gutierrez struck out the first three batters he faced to get through the sixth inning; retired three straight again in the seventh, adding one strikeout; struck out four batters in order in the eighth, one advancing to first on a dropped third strike; and then, after the first batter he faced in the ninth reached on an error, capped his outing with three more strikeouts, each coming on three pitches.

“Erik was painting the outside part of the plate. He just had the feel for that spot today,” said Kenny Landreaux, the Manager of the Barons. “Yes, he struck out three guys on nine pitches to end the game, and he struck out four guys in one inning. Yeah, it was pretty special.” Galatas recorded five strikeouts of his own over five innings and got credited with the win after the Barons offense broke out of a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the fourth. With one out and the bases loaded, Lewis hit the first pitch he saw for a two-run single, and two batters later Salley drove in another run with a single of his own.

Bart West (USC) doubled and scored the first run of the game for the Oaks in the second inning, scoring on a Michael Tillman (Cal St LA) single. Sam Shaikin (Valparaiso) doubled home Conejo’s second run in the fifth inning, driving in Zach Kaminkow (UNLV) who had led off the inning with a single.

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Elsewhere around the CCL:

San Luis Obispo, CA
Cole Brodnansky had three hits, including a bases-clearing three-run double and an RBI-single, Kevin Sandri (Pacific) and Luke Fegen (Indiana State) hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and starting pitcher Arman Sabouri (Cal) struck out six batters in four innings of work to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 9-2 win over the San Luis Obispo Blues tonight at Sinsheimer Park. Brodnansky’s big hit came in the fifth inning off San Luis Obispo starting pitcher Cole Tucker, who struck out six batters in four-plus innings and had retired the first two hitters he faced to start the fifth. But an error, a single by Ryan Ruley (Loyola Marymount) and a walk set the stage for Brodnansky, who finished with a game-high three hits and four RBI. Jackson Cunningham (Cal St Northridge) and Sam Reinertsen (Pacific) combined for five shutouts in relief of Sabouri to secure the win for Healdsburg.

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Fullerton, CA
Thomas Delgadilo had four hits and played a central role in generating the first three runs of the Orange County Riptide’s 7-3 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Fullerton College. Delgadilo singled and scored the first run of the game in the third inning, scoring from third on an infield ground out and, in the fourth inning, got a crucial two-out single to load the bases for Bradley Jekich (Pacific) who drove in two with an RBI-single. Delgadilo added an RBI-single in the fifth inning, again with two outs, as part of a three-run rally that gave the Riptide the lead for good. Orange County starting pitcher Jason Farese (Irvine Valley JC) pitched three hitless innings with three strikeouts, before turning pitching duties over to Bryce Verplank (Texas) who recorded five strikeouts in two-plus innings but allowed three runs to score, two on RBI-singles by Colin Shepherd (Miami-Ohio) and John Thomas (USC). Issac Gonzales and Daniel Zimmerman (Michigan) combined to hold the Saints scoreless for the final three and two-thirds innings and secure the win for Orange County.

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