March 15, 2020
LOS ANGELES, CA — In response to the spread of COVID-19 and its effects on our nation and the international sports community, the California Collegiate League feels it prudent to make the following statement regarding our status and the upcoming 2020 summer collegiate baseball season.
Presently, in an abundance of caution, many of the California State Public Health Departments have recommended canceling or postponing non-essential gatherings of various sizes. On Thursday, the NCAA announced that it has canceled all remaining winter/spring sports championships, including the 2020 College World Series. In addition, many conferences throughout the NCCA, from Divisions I, II, and III, have canceled or suspended the remainder of their 2020 winter/spring sports seasons. Understanding the gravity of these actions, we appreciate the steps taken by the governing bodies to protect both the public and our student-athletes. Equally, we empathize with the hundreds of student-athletes whose seasons have abruptly ended. While the public gets to enjoy watching competition in March, what is unrealized is that those games were won some early morning in October.
At this current time, the California Collegiate League plans, with careful restraint, and in accordance with state and federal guidelines, to conduct the 2020 summer collegiate baseball season as planned. The CCL and its members will continue to closely monitor the state of public health within our communities and the greater State of California over the upcoming months, and recognize that this position could change. That being said, we plan to proceed in a cautious and pragmatic manner. We will reassess this decision based on the trajectory of our environment over the next two months. We will accommodate any necessary variations to protect the health of our players, staff members, and volunteers; and any updates will be communicated with the utmost expediency.
For questions or more information, contact Aaron Milam at (626) 695-6903 or aaron@arroyosecobaseball.com.
February 13, 2020
(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The California Collegiate League is proud to announce new formats for both the 2020 season and 2020 playoffs. This year the CCL will have a regional style, 5-team double elimination tournament with a winner takes all championship game.
The State Championship Tournament presented by Placer Valley Tourism will be held in Lincoln, Calif. at McBean Stadium, home of the Lincoln Potters. The tournament will run from Friday, July 31, through Sunday, August 2.
The CCL regular season will have a 3-Division format featuring North, Central and South Divisions. The North Division features the Healdsburg Prune Packers, Lincoln Potters, Solano Mudcats, and Walnut Creek Crawdads. Central Division teams include the San Luis Obispo Blues, Santa Barbara Foresters, and Conejo Oaks. The South Division teams are the Arroyo Seco Saints, MLB Academy Barons, and the Orange County Riptide.
Each division winner will qualify for the 5-team tournament. There will be two wild card teams joining the division winners–one wild card from the North and one wild card from the Central and South divisions.
The league will host its annual mid-season All-Star Prospect game on July 15 at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif. The CCL showcase will be televised nationally on Fox Sports.
Follow your favorite teams all summer long here on the website, on Twitter @CCL_Baseball, and on Instagram: @calsummerball.
(LOS ANGELES, CA) – The California Collegiate League’s 2020 season will have a new look in the upcoming summer as the league will now consist of a three division format: South, Central, and North Divisions.
Four teams will make up the new Northern Division, with the Healdsburg Prune Packers, Lincoln Potters and the Solano Mudcats making the transition from being members of the former Affiliate Division, into becoming full-members of the California Collegiate League in 2020. They will be joined by the fourth team of the new conference, the Walnut Creek Crawdads.
The Healdsburg Prune Packers Baseball Club was formed in 2014 to carry on the tradition of the original Healdsburg Prune Packers team that was originally formed in 1921. Since their rebirth in 2014, they have played a season in both the Golden State Collegiate Baseball League and the Horizon Air Summer Series, then in 2016 they made the move to the CCL where they have competed ever since. Under the guidance of Joey Gomes, the Club’s manager on and off the field, Healdsburg will look to repeat their success in 2020 by building off their 2019 campaign in which they claimed the Affiliate Division crown and finished as runner-up in the California State Championship to the Santa Barbara Foresters.
The Lincoln Potters returned to Lincoln in 2017, but can follow their baseball roots in the city all they way back to 1923. In their first two seasons, the Potters competed as members of the Great West League, finishing as runner-ups in 2018. Then in 2019, they made the move to the CCL as members of the Affiliate Division, finishing just behind rival conference member, Healdsburg. Led by manager Ryan Stevens, the Potters will look to avenge last season’s shortcomings and hope to find themselves representing the Northern Conference as champions in 2020.
The Solano Mudcats were formed in Solano County in 1990 and were once an established semi-professional baseball club before making the switch and becoming a collegiate baseball organization in 2012. They were an independent organization for the first five years after the transition, but in 2018 they joined the Bay Area Collegiate League and earned themselves the league title in their first and only year as members. In 2019, they joined the CCL as members of the Affiliate Division. With their President, Head Coach and General Manager, Ben Crombie, at the helm, the Mudcats will look to improve upon their 2019 season and compete for a conference title in 2020.
The Walnut Creek Crawdads round out the conference, returning to the CCL after having previously been apart of the league for the 2014-17 seasons. Originally founded in 2010, the Crawdads have also competed as members of the Far West League. After a brief hiatus, Brant Cummings has taken the lead on revitalizing the organization, as he will both run and manage the team during the 2020 season. With Cummings in charge, Walnut Creek hopes to make an immediate impact in their return to the CCL and make a run at the Northern Division.
The top teams from each Division will face off in the CCL State Championship Tournament the first weekend of August. Stay tuned for more exciting news regarding that!
August 13, 2019
The CCL announced its 2019 All-League Team today and Eric Kennedy (Texas) the outfielder and leadoff man for the league champion Santa Barbara Foresters was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, and Brad Demco (Oklahoma), the left-handed pitcher for the Santa Barbara Foresters, was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. Kennedy posted a league-best .400 batting average, led the league in hits (46), stolen bases (21), triples (3), was second in runs scored (28) and was in the top ten in both home runs (3) and RBI (18). Demco, arguably, had the best personal performance in the league this year. He finished league play without allowing an earned run, allowed only two hits in 18 and two-thirds innings, and struck out a league-best 35 batters.
A full listing of the 2019 All-CCL team, which was selected by the seven managers of the league, can be viewed here.
July 28, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA
Ross Cadena (Wichita State) doubled, hit an RBI-single and scored two runs, Christian Franklin (Arkansas) hit a two-run home run, Jacob Katzfey (Wichita State) had three hits, and Jake Jackson (Nevada) and four relievers combined to allow one run over nine innings to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 6-1 win over the Healdsburg Prune Packers in the deciding game of the California State Championship series today at Sparky Anderson Field. Batting second and third in the Foresters’ lineup, Cadena and Franklin combined in the third inning to first tie the game and then give Santa Barbara a lead they would not give up. Heading into that inning with Healdsburg leading 1-0 after John Lagatutta (Cal) hit a solo home run in the second, Cadena drove in Ryan Cash (Oral Roberts), who had walked, with the tying run and Franklin hit his home run to give the Foresters a 3-1 lead. Santa Barbara increased its lead in the next inning when Katzfey, who tripled in his previous at bat and would double in his next, singled with one in the fourth and scored on an RBI-single by Cash, and added one more when Cash scored on a Eric Kennedy (Texas) double to make the score 5-1. The early runs were plenty for Jackson and the Santa Barbara relievers. Jackson went the first five innings, allowing the one run but otherwise stranding six baserunners over his five-inning start. Striking out none but also walking none, Jackson pitched around a pair of two-out singles in the first inning to hold the Packers scoreless, pitched around a two-out single in the second after Lagatutta hit his home run to leadoff the inning, stranded a baserunner who had reached on a one-out error in the third, stranded another runner who had reached base on a single in both the fourth and fifth innings to conclude his strong start and earn the win. Kevin Larson (Fresno State) started the sixth inning in relief of Jackson and pitched the next two innings scoreless, striking out one before Jacob Burton (Arkansas) pitched around a leadoff walk to hold Healdsburg scoreless in the eighth and Brad Demco (Oklahoma) struck out the side in the ninth to both close out the Foresters championship win and put an exclamation point on his pitching performance this summer, finishing the season as the league’s top strikeout pitcher and not allowing a run in 18 appearances. Trey Garlett (Texas Tech) started on the mound today for Healdsburg and suffered the loss, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out two over three and two-thirds innings. Spencer Hynes (Houston) and Andrew Hansen (St. Mary’s) both pitched in the fourth inning in relief of Garlett, Hynes surrendering the fifth run charged to Garlett when Kennedy hit his double, and Hansen getting the final out of the fourth and continuing on to retire the side in order in the fifth. Randy Polonia (UConn) pitched around Katzfey’s double to hold the Foresters scoreless in the sixth inning and started the seventh, allowing Cadena’s double before Noah Rennard took over and struck out the first batter he faced before Nick Bellafronto (Stanford) drove in the sixth Santa Barbara run with a single. Morgan White (Portland) retired the side in order in the eighth inning, striking out two, to finish on the mound for the Packers. Having won the CCL Championship on Friday and the California State Championsip today, the Foresters next set their sights on the national tournament in Wichita, Kansas already in progress with the Foresters set to play their first game later this week.
July 27, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA
The Healdsburg Prune Packers and the Santa Barbara Foresters spilt the firs two games of the best-of-three CCL Championship Series at Sparky Anderson Field, Santa Barbara winning the first game 8-5 and Healdsburg winning the second 9-5, to setup a winner-take-all championship game tomorrow at noon.
Luke Taggert (Incarnate Word) pitched five scoreless innings, Jacob Katzfey (Wichita State) hit a two-run single, Blake Hall (Oral Roberts) stole home and drove in a run and Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt) had two hits and scored once to lead the Foresters to the first game win. Taggert was the starting pitcher in this game for Santa Barbara and retired the first eight batters he faced in order before an error and a single put the first two runners on base for Healdsburg with two outs in the third. Taggert stranded those runners by inducing a groundball out to end the third inning, pitched around another error and another single to leadoff the fourth by striking out one batter and getting a groundball double-play to end that inning, and retired the side again in the fifth to hold the Packers scoreless through five. By this time the Foresters had built a 4-0 lead, scoring three times in their first at bat when Nick Bellafronto (Stanford) singled and Christian Franklin (Arkansas) walked with one out and, after another out was recorded, an error allowed Bellafronto to score and put two runners on board in front of Katsfey’s single. Santa Barbara took advantage of another error in the third inning which allowed Hall to reach base safely who, after advancing to second on Jones’ first hit of the game and then stealing third, stole home on the pitch safely with the fourth Foresters run. All four runs were charged to Healdsburg’s starting pitcher Kenny Haus (UConn) who gave up three hits and walked three in three innings of work. Andrew Hansen (St. Mary’s) retired the first six batters he faced to pitch the fourth and fifth innings scoreless and started the sixth with the lead after the Packers rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth, scoring once on Taggert who surrendered a leadoff home run to Cal Conley (Texas Tech) and a single before Cole Quintanilla (Texas) took over the pitching duties. Quintanilla, pitching with a runner on and no outs, recorded outs against the first two batters he faced before Travis Turney (Portland) singled to get a second runner on base, David Langer (UConn) hit an RBI-single and John Lagatutta (Cal) hit a three-run home run to give the Packers their first lead 5-4, a lead it would turn out would not last very long. After Quintanilla struck out the last batter he faced to end the top of the sixth inning the Foresters rallied against Hansen in the bottom of the sixth, getting their first two batters on base when Jones singled and the next batter was hit by a pitch, and took back the lead when Hansen fielded a sacrifice bunt and threw the attempted force out at third base out in the left field corner that allowed both runners to score and the batter to get all the way to third base with no outs. Ian Villers (Cal) entered the game at this point in relief of Hansen and, after issuing two walks that loaded the bases and striking out one batter, Franklin hit an RBI-single and Hall hit a sacrifice fly to put Santa Barbara up 8-5. Jacob Burton (Arkansas) pitched the seventh inning scoreless for the Foresters, retiring three of the four batters he faced, Clayton Beeter (Texas Tech) threw a scoreless eighth, pitching around the second hits of the game for Cam Blake (Texas A&M) and Langer, and a walk that loaded the bases with one out by striking out one batter and getting the third out on a flyball to escape unscathed, and Elijah Trest (Arkansas) retired three of the four batters he faced in the ninth to close the Foresters win. Spencer Hynes (Houston) finished the first game on the mound for Healdsburg, striking out two in a scoreless eighth.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
Bryan Sturges (UT San Antonio) hit an RBI-single and David Langer (UConn) and Connor Mack (Cal) followed with a two-run double and an RBI-single, respectively, in a four-run eighth inning rally that broke a 5-5 tie and propelled Healdsburg to a third and decisive championship game tomorrow. Sturges’ hit that broke the tie was setup when Joe Lampe (UC Davis) and Bryson Hill (Houston) both singled to lead off the inning and a fielder’s choice put runners on first and third with one out. Sturges hit a hard groundball into left field to put the Packers up by one and runners on first and second. Then, after the second out of the inning was recorded, Langer hit his double and Mack singled in the fourth run. Santa Barbara led briefly in this game, scoring once in the second inning when Quentin Selma (Cal) singled and two batters walked in front of an Eric Kennedy (Texas) sacrifice fly. But Healdsburg answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second, scoring after Mack and Lampe hit their first of two singles of the game and three walks forced in two to give the Packers the lead. They added to their lead in their next at bat, again taking advantage of three walks, all of whom scored when a hit batter forced in one run and Jason Dicochea (Santa Clara) hit the second of his three hits in the game to drive in two and give Healdsburg a 5-1 lead. All five runs were charged to Foresters’ starting pitcher Brooks Fuller (Auburn) who struggled to find the strike zone consistently, walking seven and hitting one batter over two and third innings, while striking out three. Healdsburg’s starting pitcher Elijah Birdsong (Pacific) had mixed results early as well, walking three in his first two innings of work, but he righted things and ended up striking out eight over five and third innings. The Foresters did score off of Birdsong, however, scoring once in the fourth inning when Tevin Tucker (West Virginia) and Ryan Cash (Oral Roberts) hit one-out singles and Nick Bellafronto (Stanford) hit a two-out RBI-single, and twice in the sixth when Birdsong surrendered a leadoff double to Selma and a one-out RBI-double to Cash before Michael Clark (Cal Poly) entered the game in relief and retired the two batters he faced in the inning, but allowed the second run score on a wild pitch to get the Foresters within one, 5-4. Clark retired the side in order in the seventh before Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt) singled to lead off the eighth, advanced to second base on a passed ball and scored when the next batter, Selma, singled for his third hit of the game to tie the score and put the potential go-ahead run on base with no outs. After a sacrifice advanced the runner into scoring position, an error put runners on first and third but Clark got a pop-out to short centerfield that was not deep enough to score the runner from third and retired the last hitter on another fly-out to centerfield to limit the damage and setup the four-run Healdsburg rally in their next at bat. Devin Kirby pitched around a two-out error and struck out one to close out the win with a scoreless ninth inning. Christian Winston (San Diego State) was the first reliever utilized in this game for the Foresters, entering the game with the bases loaded and one out in third inning in relief of Fuller and, after striking out the first batter he faced, surrendered Dicochea’s single that plated two runs that were charged to Fuller. Winston went on to retired ten of the next twelve batters he faced and struck out five over three and two-thirds innings before Connor Woods (UNLV) took over to start the seventh and struck two of the three batters he faced in the inning before giving up the four Packers runs in the eighth. Caden Monke (Arkansas) got the final out of the eighth inning in relief of Woods, but not before surrendering Mack’s single that plated the fourth run charged to Woods.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
The CCL State Championship Game begins tomorrow at Sparky Anderson Field at noon.
July 26, 2019
Thousand Oaks, CA
Blake Hall (Oral Roberts) doubled and hit a two-run home run, Ryan Cash (Oral Roberts) went three-for-three with three runs scored and two RBI, and Nick Bellafronto (Stanford) and Christian Franklin (Arkansas) each doubled and had multiple-RBI games to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 10-9 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints today at Sparky Anderson Field to claim the 2019 CCL Championship. Hall’s double with one out in the third inning sparked a three-run rally that put Santa Barbara up 7-0, and his home run in the fourth, which came on the heels of a two-run home run by Jayson Gonzales (Vanderbilt) that got Arroyo Seco on the board, seemed to indicate the Foresters would have an answer for anything the Saints threw at them. But Arroyo Seco came back regardless, scoring five times in the fifth inning on five hits, including a two-run double by Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona), RBI-doubles by Thomas Luevano (San Diego) and Evan Russell (Tennessee) and a run-scoring single by Gonzales to get within two, 9-7. Matt Garza (Incarnate Word), who entered the game in relief of Saints’ starting pitcher Trevor Beer (UC Santa Barbara) in the middle of the third inning after the Foresters scored their three runs, held the Foresters scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, retiring six of the seven batters he faced before starting the seventh down only one run after Luevano and Pete Derkay (Tennessee) hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the inning to make the score 9-8. Cash singled and Eric Kennedy (Texas) bunted for a base hit off Garza to start the Foresters half of the inning and, after Hayden Harris (Georgia Southern) entered the game in relief of Garza, Franklin hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Cash with what would prove to be the game winning run. Elijah Trest (Arkansas), the third reliever to appear in the game for Santa Barbara, struck out three to hold the Saints scoreless in the eighth inning and Hunter Breault (Oregon) came on to pitch the ninth, allowing one run when Derkay hit his second consecutive double and third hit of the game, advanced to third on Gonzales’ third hit of the game and scored on a run-producing groundout that put the potential tying run in scoring position with two outs. Breault struck out the next batter to end the game, however, and secured the championship for Santa Barbara. Beer suffered the loss in today’s game, striking out five over two and two-thirds innings but surrendered nine hits and seven runs, including three in the first inning when Kennedy led of with a single, Bellafronto and Franklin followed with RBI-doubles and, one out later, Ross Cadena (Wichita State) hit an RBI-single. Beer also allowed one run in the second when Cash got the first of his three hits and scored on a Bellafronto two-out single before being charged with all the runs in the Foresters’ three-run third. Ryan Bergert (West Virginia) started on the mound for Santa Barbara and held the Saints hitless until two outs in the fourth inning when Derkay got the first of his three hits in front of Gonzales’ home run. Connor Woods (UNLV) came on to pitch in relief of Bergert after Arroyo Seco scored the first four runs of their rally in the fifth inning and, after allowing Russell’s double that drove in the fifth Saints run of the inning, Woods struck out the last batter to end the rally and turned the pitching duties over to Jake Jackson (Nevada), who pitched around an error to hold the Saints scoreless in the sixth before allowing the Luevano and Derkay doubles in the seventh.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
The CCL State Championship Series begins tomorrow at Sparky Anderson Field with the Foresters taking on the champion of the CCL Affiliates Division Healdsburg Prune Packers in a best-of-three series beginning at noon with a second game to follow at 4pm. A third, if necessary, game is scheduled for Sunday at noon.
July 25, 2019
Healdsburg, CA
John Lagattuta (Cal) homered for the second consecutive game, singled and drove in four runs, and Bryan Sturges (UT San Antonio) doubled and drove in two runs to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to an 8-4 win over the Lincoln Potters tonight at Recreation Park, giving the Packers the championship of the CCL Affiliates Division and a berth to the 2019 California State Championship Saturday at Sparky Anderson Field in Thousand Oaks. Lagattuta’s home run came with two outs in the second inning with Healdsburg trailing 3-0, after Lincoln scored once in their first at bat when Lorenzo Debrecht (Sierra JC) led off the game with a home run, and twice in the top of the second inning when Parker Kelly (Texas Tech) hit a two-run home run. Two batters walked with two outs to set up Lagattuta’s home run that tied the score and, in his next at bat in the fourth inning, Lagattuta put Healdsburg in front when his single drove in Connor Mack (Cal), who had doubled right before his hit. Three batters later Lagattuta scored on a Sturges sacrifice fly to make the score 5-3. Morgan White (Portand) was the starting pitcher for the Packers and went two innings, allowing the two early home runs while striking out two. Michael Clark (Cal Poly) was the first reliever into the game, starting the third inning in relief of White, and worked around a two-out double by Isaiah Garcia (Cal St Fullerton) to pitch that inning scoreless, pitched around a walk in a scoreless fourth before allowing a run in the fifth when Charles Middleton hit Lincoln’s third home run of the game to make the score 5-4. That was as close as the Potters would get as Randy Polonia (UConn), Trey Garlett (Texas Tech) and Devin Kirby shutout Lincoln the rest of the way. Polonia pitched out of a sticky when a walk and two singles loaded the bases with out for the Potters in the sixth inning, but Polonia got a flyout and a groundout to escape unscathed. He then retired the first two batters of the seventh before Garlett came on to retire the third out in the seventh and the first out of the eighth, allowing a single and a hit batter before Kirby took over. Kirby was on the mound when Sturges picked the runner off second base from his catcher’s position for the second out of the eighth and Kirby struck out the last batter of that inning and then retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out the last two batters of the game, to secure the championship for Healdsburg. Jakob Frederick (San Joaquin JC) started on the mound for Lincoln and suffered the loss, allowing five runs on four hits while striking out one over three innings. Tyler Mead (Biola) pitched three scoreless innings for the Potters in relief of Frederick, striking out two, before Healdsburg added their last three runs, scoring once in the seventh inning on Mack’s RBI-groundout and two in the eighth when Sturges hit an RBI-double and scored later on a passed ball. The win qualified Healdsburg for a berth in the state championship set to begin Saturday in Thousand Oaks. The Packers will play the winner of the CCL Championship game between the Santa Barbara Foresters and Arroyo Seco Saints tomorrow at 4:30pm, also in Thousand Oaks.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
Thousand Oaks, CA
Anthony Forte (Richmond) cleared the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the fifth inning and drove in two runs with a double in his next at bat in the seventh, Pete Derkay (Tennessee) and Drew Cowley (Cal Pomona) each hit RBI-doubles and Morgan Allen (St. Edward’s) hit a two-out, two-run single to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to a 12-7 win over the Orange County Riptide in the elimination game of the CCL playoffs today at Sparky Anderson Field. With the win, the number three seeded Saints advance to the CCL Championship Game tomorrow when they will meet the number one seeded Santa Barbara Foresters in a winner-take-all game to determine the league champion for 2019. Forte’s first double broke open what had been a close 5-3 game. His hit to the wall in the right-center gap drove in three runners after Thomas McCarthy (San Francisco) singled and Christian Scott (Tennessee) walked with two outs to load the bases after a batter reached base on a fielder’s choice. Forte scored the Saints fourth run of the fifth after advancing to third on an Allen single and coming home when Allen was picked off of first base but stayed in a rundown long enough for Forte to give Arroyo Seco a 9-3 lead. Both teams had scoring opportunities in every inning early in this game with the Saints scoring three unearned runs in their first at bat when a two-out walk and an error put two runners on board in front of Derkay’s double and Derkay scoring on a Jayson Gonzales (Vanderbilt) RBI-single, only to have the Riptide score twice in their first at bat on three consecutive hits to leadoff the bottom of the first inning, including a two-run double by Dylan Rock (UT San Antonio). The Saints scored twice more in the second inning on three hits, including Allen’s two-run single, and Orange County scored once in their half of the inning when Daniel Jung (Notre Dame) walked, advanced on a Carson Matthews (BYU) single and scored on a sacrifice fly. Both teams’ starting pitchers had a tough time getting outs in this game. Devin Sutorius (Biola) started for the Riptide and lasted only two innings while Cade Bullinger (Texas State) went two-plus, allowing two singles to leadoff the third inning before Eli Riechmann (Blinn) came on to strand the two runners by retiring three straight batters, including a sparkling diving grab by Allen at second base on a hard-hit line-drive by Jung for the first out of the third that changed the complexion of the inning, if not the game. Riechmann would go on to pitch two more scoreless innings before a walk and a Max Ferguson (Tennessee) home run in the sixth inning got Orange County closer 9-5. But, after two one-out walks, Forte took back the momentum for the Saints when he hit another line drive double into the right center gap to score two and did it one better when Cowley drove him in one out later with his double. Isaiah Ramos (Antelope Valley) started the seventh inning in relief of Riechmann and retired the side in order to pitch that inning scoreless before allowing two runs in the eighth when Matthews doubled and scored on a Chad Crosbie (Miami) pinch-hit home run to post the final 12-7 score. The game was called at the end of eight innings because of darkness and CCL Commissioner Pat Burns declared it an official game, deciding it was not in the teams’ best interests to regroup overnight and travel to a field that has not been reserved to complete the last inning of today’s game and then regroup again to meet the Foresters in the championship game. The Saints will meet Santa Barbara 4pm tomorrow at Sparky Anderson Field.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
The CCL Playoffs continue tomorrow at Sparky Anderson Field on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. Tomorrow the No. 3 seeded Arroyo Seco Saints will meet the No. 1 seeded Santa Barbara Foresters in a winner-take-all championship game. Game time is 4:30pm. The winner of the Affiliate Division Playoffs, Healdsburg Prune Packers, will meet the CCL Champion in a best-of-three California State Championship set to begin Saturday at Sparky Anderson Field at 12pm.
July 24, 2019
Healdsburg, CA
Ian Villers (Cal) was nearly perfect through five innings, allowing only one walk, and Jason Dicochea (Santa Clara), John Lagattuta (Cal) and Cam Blake (Texas A&M) each hit solo home runs to lead the Healdsburg Prune Packers to a 7-0 shutout win over the Lincoln Potters in the first game of the three-game CCL Affiliates Division championship series tonight at Recreation Park. Villers struck out eight in his outing and retired every batter he faced in order until he walked Tanner O’Tremba (Texas Tech) on four pitches with two outs in his last inning, presumably the last batter he would have faced. Villers then retired the next batter he faced to complete his hitless start. By the time Villers’ outing was complete the Packers had amassed a 4-0 lead, having scored three times in the second inning when Connor Mack (Cal) hit an RBI-double and Joe Lampe (UC Davis) hit a two-run single, and once in the third when Dicochea hit his home run. Lagattuta hit his home run in the bottom of the fifth which gave Andrew Hansen (St. Mary’s), who relieved Villers to start the sixth inning, a five-run cushion to work with. He needed none of it. Hansen picked up where Villers left off and shutout the Potters over the last four innings, allowing two singles and one walk while striking out three. Brain Martinez (Cal St East Way) started on the mound for Lincoln and suffered the loss, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out two over four innings. Travis Parker (Utah Valley) pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowing a run in each when Lagattuta hit his home run in the fifth and Blake hit his in the sixth. Michael Potter (Cal St Monterey Bay) finished the game for the Potters, allowing four hits over two innings and surrendering the last Packers run in the eighth when Bryan Sturges (UT San Antonio) and Blake hit consecutive singles to leadoff the inning and Sturges scored on a first-and-third rundown situation when Blake was picked off first base but stayed in the rundown long enough for Sturges to score. The two teams will meet tomorrow at 4pm and, if necessary, again at 7pm, to determine the CCL Affiliates champion.
Click here for the boxscore of this game
The CCL Playoffs get underway tomorrow at Sparky Anderson Field on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks with a three-team single elimination tournament. Tomorrow the No. 3 seeded Arroyo Seco Saints will meet the No. 2 seeded Orange County Riptide in an elimination game, the winner of which will meet the No. 1 seeded Santa Barbara Foresters on Friday in a winner-take-all championship game. Game times are 4:30pm. The winner of the Affiliate Division Playoffs will meet the CCL Champion in a best-of-three California State Championship set to begin Saturday at Sparky Anderson Field at 12pm.
July 23, 2019
The CCL Playoffs and Affiliate Division Playoffs get underway tomorrow with the first game of a best-of-three series between the No. 2 seeded Lincoln Potters and the No. 1 seeded Healdsburg Prune Packers at Recreation Park in Healdsburg. Game time is 6pm. The CCL Playoffs begin Thursday at Sparky Anderson Field on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks with a three-team single elimination tournament. The No. 3 seeded Arroyo Seco Saints will meet the No. 2 seeded Orange County Riptide in an elimination game, the winner of which will meet the No. 1 seeded Santa Barbara Foresters on Friday in a winner-take-all championship game. Game times are 4:30pm. The winner of the Affiliate Division Playoffs will then meet the CCL Champion in a best-of-three California State Championship set to begin Saturday at Sparky Anderson Field at 4pm.
Other news around the CCL today:
Pasadena, CA
Christian Franklin (Arkansas) hit a pair of home runs, driving in three, Eric Kennedy (Texas) doubled to finish the regular season with a .400 batting average, good for a CCL batting title, and Brad Demco pitched two innings of scoreless relief to finish the regular season with a CCL best .000 ERA to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 7-3 win over the Arroyo Seco Saints tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Franklin’s first home run came in the first inning, driving in Kennedy, who had led off the game with his double, to put the Foresters up 2-0. His second home run led off the seventh inning and sparked a three-run rally that included an RBI-single by Quentin Selma (Cal), posting the final score. Demco was the second reliever into the game for Santa Barbara, starting the sixth inning in relief of Connor Woods (UNLV). Demco struck out five in two hitless innings, giving him 35 for the season, good enough to win the CCL strikeout king crown for 2019. Caden Monke (Arkansas) started on the mound in this game for the Foresters and went three innings, striking out three, allowing three hits and surrendering all three Saints runs, one in the first inning when Nikolas Pagan (Hartford) hit an RBI-single, and two in the third when a run producing groundout and a sacrifice fly plate the last runs of the game for the Saints. Woods picked up the win in relief of Monke, throwing two scoreless innings in which he retired all six batters he faced, three by strikeout. The Foresters took over the lead for good in the fourth inning when Connor Pavolony (Tennessee) singled to lead off the inning, Tevin Tucker (West Virginia) followed him with a double and both scored, Pavolony on a RBI-groundout and Tucker on a sacrifice fly. All seven Santa Barbara runs were charged to Saints starting pitcher Grant Young (San Francisco), who allowed seven runs on seven hits while striking out two and pitched into the seventh inning before Justin Kleinsorge came in with no outs and two runners on in that inning. Kleinsorge faced only three batters in the seventh, but Selma’s hit and an RBI-groundout produced the last two Santa Barbara runs. Trevor Davis (Cornell) and Race Gardner (Hawaii-Hilo) pitched the last two innings for the Saints, Davis retiring three straight in the eighth inning, striking out two, and Gardner retiring three of four in the ninth to finish the game for Arroyo Seco. Jacob Burton (Arkansas) and Elijah Trest (Arkansas) each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to close out the win for the Foresters, each posting two strikeouts.
Click here for recaps of this game
Compton, CA
Carson Carter (Texas Tech) pitched four innings of one-hit, shutout baseball, striking out six, Nico Lima (Oxnard CC) hit a solo home run, Raul Sandoval (Oxnard CC) hit a pair of RBI-singles, and Ramon Gomez (Oklahoma Baptist) and Trent MacKinney each hit RBI-doubles to lead the Conejo Oaks to an 11-6 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Carter hit two batters and gave up the lone single in his four-inning start but otherwise he was perfect. He retired the side in order in his first and last inning, had strikeouts in all four innings, and got plenty of run support. The Oaks scored four runs in their first at bat on four hits, including RBI-singles by Ryne Yamashiro (Cal Lutheran) and Sandoval, an RBI-groundout by Gabe Baldovino (Ventura JC) and an error. Conejo added to their lead in the second inning when Lima hit his home run, in the fifth when Gomez and MacKinney hit back-to-back RBI-doubles to plate two, and in the sixth when they rallied for four runs on three hits, including run scoring singles by Sandoval and Baldovino, and two RBI-groundouts to take an 11-0 lead. Aaron Suval (Glendale JC) was the first reliever into the game for the Oaks, starting the fifth inning in relief of Carter and, after pitching the fifth scoreless, surrendered the first two Academy runs when Trent Anderson doubled and scored on a Christian Lucio (Eastern Kentucky) single, and Lucio scored on an infield out. Peyton Ebel (Greensboro) relieved Suval to get the final out in the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh before Clay Rickerman (Cal Lutheran) took over to start the eighth and allowed the Barons’ next three runs on a sacrifice fly and three hits, including Anderson’s second consecutive double, an RBI-triple by Kendall Ewell (Eastern Kentucky) and a run-scoring single by Marcus Johnson (Santa Ana JC). Marshall Denton (Arkansas) pitched the ninth for the Oaks and surrendered one run when Anderson got his fourth hit of the game, stole a base and scored on an error. The Academy utilized seven pitchers for their last game of the season, none throwing more than two innings and highlighted by JP Massey (Minnesota) who struck out the side in his one inning of work in the ninth.