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2010 Game Stories

By Dave Loveton, sports information


Sunday, Feb. 7 -- SBCC at Saddleback (DH), Mission Viejo, 2 p.m. Saddleback 12-6, SBCC 6-5  Record: 0-2

 Vaqueros drop doubleheader
Four homers aren't enough at Saddleback

 SBCC belted four homers on Sunday but still dropped a season-opening doubleheader to Saddleback in Mission Viejo. The Gauchos won by scores of 12-6 and 6-5.
 
The Vaqueros gave up six runs in the fourth inning of the opener and fell behind 6-0. Conner Rehage hit a solo homer in the fifth and Steven Keller had a two-run blast in the ninth. Sam Johnston and Taylor Lyons each had two hits.
 
Saddleback (2-1), ranked 13th in Southern Cal, erased a 5-4 SBCC lead in the nightcap with single runs in the seventh and the bottom of the ninth. Abe Ruiz delivered a solo homer in the fourth and Tommy White made it 5-3 with a two-run blast in the fifth.
 
Zach Chavez had a pair of doubles for the Vaqueros, who had five hits and four errors.
 
"We responded well in the second game," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "We made some errors due to inexperience and first-day jitters. We also had some flashes of brilliance. All the parts are in place for us and I'm very confident we'll have a good season."
 
The Vaqueros make their home debut on Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Glendale.

Game 1 Box        Game 2 Box

  First Game
SBCC ...............
000 010 302 --   6 11  2
Saddleback ..... 000 620 40x -- 12 15  2

 Edgington, Gardner (4), Smith (5), Perry (7) and Keller; Liguori, Castellano (7), Wylie (7) and Gore, Heil (8). W--Liguori 1-0. L--Edgington 0-1. Save--Wylie (1).
 2B--SB: Johnston. S: Vertigan, Christensen, Gonzalez, Gore 2. 3B--S: Lyons. HR--SB: Rehage, 5th inn., none on; Keller, 9th inn., one on. S: Parvin, 7th inn., none on.

  Second Game
SBCC ............... 100 220 000 -- 5   5  4
Saddleback ..... 101 101 101 -- 6  11 1
 
Selarz, Gunderson (6), Turnbull (8) and Keller; Horrell, Helmkamp (4), Nelson (5), Yuh (7), Christensen (8) and Krovetzky. W--Christensen 1-0. L--Turnbull 0-1.
 2B--SB: Chavez 2, Yost. S: Ehlow, Parvin, Martin, Coombs. HR--SB: Ruiz (1), 4th inn., none on; White (1), 5th inn., one on.


Saturday, Feb. 13 -- Antelope Valley at SBCC (DH), 11 a.m. SBCC 13-17, Antelope Valley 0-6  Record: 2-2

Vaqueros erupt for 30 runs in sweep
   
Ruiz has two homers, six RBIs

 Abe Ruiz and Conner Rehage combined for four of SBCC's five home runs in Saturday's home baseball debut as the Vaqueros overwhelmed Antelope Valley in a doubleheader sweep, 13-0 and 17-6.
 
Ruiz, a sophomore transfer from Arizona State, went 6-for-10 on the day with a two-run homer in each game. Rehage hit two round-trippers in the nightcap, which was shortened to eight innings by darkness. The first baseman belted a two-run shot in the first inning to put the Vaqueros up 4-3 and added a solo blast in the fourth. Ruiz and Rehage have three homers apiece in four games.
 
SBCC, ranked 17th in Southern California, evened its record at 2-2 in the opening games of a six-game homestand.
 
Joe McGrew tossed three-hit ball for seven innings in the opener with nine strikeouts and three walks. Ryan Gardner completed the shutout, allowing three hits and striking out three with no walks.
 
"This really shows how different we are from a year ago," said coach Teddy Warrecker, whose team has nine homers in four games -- more than the 2008 team hit the entire year. "Ruiz had some great at-bats and got some good swings after working the count."
 
Daniel Howell hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the first game, stretching the lead to 8-0. Ruiz was 3-5 in each game while Rehage went 2-3 in the nightcap with two homers, three RBIs and three runs scored.
 
The Vaqueros had three homers and a five doubles in the second game and scored four runs in four different innings. Tommy White had a two-run double in the first inning and Danny Cavaletto delivered a two-run pinch-hit double in the seventh.

Game 1 Box       Game 2 Box

  First Game
Antelope Valley ...... 000 000 000 --   0  6 2
SBCC ...................... 201 122 05x -- 13 13 1
 
Morgan, Marrujo (5), Wassner (7) and Finson; McGrew, Gardner (8) and Keller, Trevino (9). W--McGrew 1-0. L--Morgan 0-1.
 
2B--AV: Hodges. SB: Keller. HR--SB: Ruiz (2), 5th inn, one on; Howell (1), 6th inn., one on.

 Second Game
(8 inn., darkness)
Antelope Valley ...... 302 001 00 --   6  7 1
SBCC ...................... 414 400 4x -- 17 13 1
 
Carillo, Devoer (3), Ortiz (6) and Cox; Edgington, Selarz (6), Alvarez (8) and Keller, Trevino (7). W--Edgington 1-1. L--Carillo 0-1.
 
2B--AV: Cota. SB: Keller, Chavez, White, Cavaletto, Ruiz. HR--AV: Hodges, 1st inn., none on; Reyes, 1st inn, one on. SB: Rehage (2), 1st inn., one on; Ruiz (3), 4th inn., one on; Rehage (3), 4th inn., none on.


Thursday, Feb. 18 -- Solano at SBCC, 2 p.m. SBCC 9, Solano 8  Record: 3-2

Turnbull saves day for Vaqueros
   
White, Rehage homer in 9-8 victory

 After building a 7-2 lead through three innings on Thursday, SBCC held on to beat Solano 9-8 in a nonconference game at Pershing Park.
 
Kylin Turnbull, a 6-5 freshman left-hander from Hillsboro, Ore., came on with with no outs in the ninth, his team ahead by one and a runner on first base. After throwing the ball away on a pickoff try, he gave up a bunt single, then retired the side 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.
 
"For Turnbull to maintain his composure after throwing the ball away, that was big," said coach Teddy Warrecker. Then he goes strikeout, popup, strikeout for his first college save. That was only his third inning of work and he handled himself beautifully."
 
The Vaqueros improved to 3-2, despite committing five errors. Friday's second game of the three-game series has been moved up to a 10 a.m. doubleheader (hoping to beat the rain) and there will be no game on Saturday.
 
Tommy White was 3-4 with a two-run homer in the first and and Conner Rehage went 3-3 with a solo blast. Rehage led off the fifth inning with his fourth homer to center field, boosting the lead to 8-4.
 
Sam Johnston's two-run double capped off a five-run third inning and Danny Cavaletto had an RBI single and a double in his first start in center field.
 
Zach Chavez made it 9-5 with an RBI single in the sixth but the Vaqueros didn't score again, despite getting a runner to third in the seventh and runners on second and third with two out in the eighth. Solano scored three times in the seventh and pulled within 9-8 on Trevor Matern's two-out RBI single.
 
"It was a wild finish but it was 'wild good,' " said Warrecker. "We never relinquished the lead. We had our worst defensive inning of the year (giving up three runs in the seventh) with balls getting thrown all over the infield.
 
"Offense covers up for a multitude of sins. We basically outscored them today."
 
The top three batters in the Vaquero order -- Chavez, Steven Keller and White -- had five hits, five walks and five runs scored while the Falcons' top four hitters went 1-for-14.
 
Ryan Gardner came on with two outs in the fifth and held Solano to three runs (one earned) in 3 1/3 innings.
 
Zach Edgington and Joe McGrew are slated to start in Thursday's doubleheader at 10 a.m.

Box Score

Solano ....... 002 201 300 -- 8 13 0
SBCC.......... 205 011 00x -- 9 11 5
 
Duman, Rogers (3), Worthan (6) and Romero, Mills (7); Selarz, Gardner (5), Turnbull (9) and Keller. W--Gardner 1-0. L--Duman. Save--Turnbull (1).
 
2B--S: Ard, Krutel, Baptista. SB: Chavez, Johnston, Cavaletto. HR--SB: White (2), 1st inn., one on; Rehage (4), 5th inn., none on.


Friday, Feb. 19 -- Solano at SBCC (DH), 10 a.m.  Solano 6-3, SBCC 5-7  Record: 4-3

    Vaqueros earn split with Solano
McGrew tosses gem in nightcap; SBCC belts four homers

 Joe McGrew tossed four-hit ball for eight innings on Friday, helping SBCC earn a nonconference baseball split with Solano at Pershing Park. The Falcons won the first game 6-5 while the Vaqueros took the nightcap 7-3.
 
McGrew, a 6-4 sophomore left-hander from Santa Monica, allowed three runs (none earned) with five strikeouts and three walks to improve to 2-0. Bryce Smith pitched the ninth for the Vaqueros (4-3), who took two of three from Solano (3-6), which made the long trip from Fairfield (near Napa Valley).
 
"Joe has really improved his conditioning and strength," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "In his second start of the year, he throws 118 pitches and he wasn't out of gas at any point. He's pitching like a No. 1 (starter) right now."
 
After the Falcons scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth, McGrew got out of a first-and-third situation with a fly out to second and then escaped a first-and-second jam in the seventh by getting Patrick Johnson to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.
 
"The changeup was working and anytime that's working, it goes real well," said McGrew, who will pitch for UCSB next year. "I work off that and throw fastballs when I have to and get weak contact."
 
SBCC had its 10-game home winning streak snapped in the opener, when it committed five errors.
 
"We were uncharacteristically careless with the baseball, not only today but Thursday also," said Warrecker. "I really feel those errors cost us a series sweep. We're much better than that. On the flip side, Sam Johnston made some incredibly athletic plays at second base."
 
SBCC slammed four more home runs, two in each game, boosting the total to 15 in seven games. Last year's squad hit 19 homers in 43 games.
 
The Vaqueros jumped ahead 5-0 in the second game, thanks to a four-run fourth that was highlighted by Johnston's two-run single. Johnston went 3-4 with a double while leadoff hitter Danny Cavaletto smashed the first home run of his career (solo shot in the fourth) and Abe Ruiz drilled a solo blast to right with two outs in the seventh to make it 7-2.
 
Ruiz and Connner Rehage lead the squad with four homers each.
 
"Danny Cavaletto adds an absolute spark for us," Warrecker said. "He prepares himself as well as anyone we have, waiting for his opportunity, and it shows up when he gets a chance to play."
 
In the opener, Solano took a 5-2 lead by scoring four times on five hits in the third against No. 1 starter, Zach Edgington. Edgington went eight innings, allowing six runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts.
 
Daniel Howell hit a solo shot in the second inning and Tommy White homered for the second straight game -- a two-run shot in the third -- but SBCC couldn't overcome 11 strikeouts. White had three of SBCC's seven hits.
 
"That's way too many strikeouts," said Warrecker. "We're striking out too much for our ability. We need to make the other team compete in the strike zone with two strikes. When we do that, we'll be a very dangerous team."

Game 1 Box      Game 2 Box

  First Game
Solano ....... 014 000 010 -- 6 9 1
SBCC ......... 112 000 100 -- 5 7 5
 
Bevaqua, Hopkins (5), Consulo (7) and Romero; Edgington, Gunderson (8) and Keller. W--Consulo. L--Edgington 1-2.
 
2B--SB: Keller. HR--SB: Howell (2), 2nd inn., none on; White (3), 3rd inn., one on.
 
 
Second Game
Solano ...... 000 002 010 -- 3  5  0
SBCC......... 014 100 10x -- 7 11 3
 
Lewis, Castillo (4), Galindez (7), Miller (7), Papucci (8) and Romero, Mills (5), Mossholder (8); McGrew, Smith (9) and Keller. W--McGrew 2-0. L--Lewis.
 
2B--SB: Howell, Ruiz, Johnston. HR--SB: Cavaletto (1), 4th inn., none on; Ruiz (4), 7th inn., none on.
 
Records--SC: 3-6. SBCC: 4-3.


Tuesday, Feb. 23 -- Irvine Valley at SBCC, 2 p.m. SBCC 10, Irvine Valley 8  Record: 5-3

White is red-hot in 10-8 win
 
He goes 4-for-4 with a 3-run homer

 Tommy White had a career day on Tuesday at Pershing Park as he went 4-for-4 with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs in a 10-8 baseball victory over Irvine Valley.
 
"I was seeing the ball real well and trying to have quality at-bats," said White, a freshman outfielder from Scottsdale, Ariz.
 
White staked the Vaqueros (5-3) to a 3-0 first-inning lead by drilling a three-run homer to left after Danny Cavaletto and Steven Keller opened with singles. White doubled in the third and scored on an error, then had an RBI single in the fourth and a leadoff double that led to a two-run seventh.
 
"I had a 3-1 count (in the first) and he threw a fastball right inside," recalled White. "I was just trying to hit a hard fly ball to score the run from third. Here at the Persh, it's not too much of a deep park and sometimes a pop-up can get out of here."
 
The top three batters in the order went 8-13 with seven runs scored. Cavaletto was 2-4, Keller was 2-5 and each scored a pair of runs.
 
Sophomore right-hander Greg Selarz allowed five runs with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to each his first collegiate win.
 
The Lasers got within a run in three straight innings -- 6-5, 7-6 and 9-8 in the eighth -- but SBCC answered in the bottom half of each frame. Chase Yost got his first homer leading off the bottom of the eighth to make it 10-8.
 
Submarine reliever DJ Gunderson recorded the final four outs for his first save.
 
"I was really impressed with Gunderson's poise," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "He got a couple of guys looking on strikeouts after a four-pitch walk to open the ninth. And he got out of a big jam in the eighth."
 
The Vaqueros have 17 homers in eight games and are batting over .325 as a team. Cavaletto leads the squad at .471 while White is hitting .469 with four homers and a team-high 15 RBIs.
 
"That's why Tommy White hits in the three spot," said Warrecker. "He shows the best approach game-in and game-out. He's not afraid to use the whole field and he can do a ton of damage, even when he has a two-strike count. He has superior skill and I only see him getting better."
 
The Vaqueros went 5-1 on their six-game homestand that ended Tuesday. They'll play their next five on the road, starting Thursday at Irvine Valley.

Box Score

Irvine Valley ...... 000 311 120 --   8 13 0
SBCC.................. 301 201 21x -- 10 13 2
 
Sianez, Lutz (7) and Williams; Selarz, Turnbull (6), Gunderson (7) and Keller. W--Selarz 1-0. L--Sianez 1-1.
 
2B--IV: Olive, Williams. SB: Pecyna, White 2, Cavaletto. 3B--SB: Pecyna, Rehage. HR--IV: Gorman, 5th inn., none on. SB: White (4), 1st inn., two on; Yost (1), 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--IV 5-4. SB 5-3.


Thursday, Feb. 25 -- SBCC at Irvine Valley, 2 p.m.  Irvine Valley 2, SBCC 1  Record: 5-4

Vaqueros fall on error in ninth
 
Edgington tosses seven strong innings

 Austin Alva outdueled Zach Edgington on Thursday and Irvine Valley pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth to edge SBCC 2-1 in a nonconference game at Irvine. The Vaqueros (5-4) failed to hit a homer for the first time this year and split the home-and-home series with the Lasers (6-5).
 
Alva tossed a seven-hitter with seven strikeouts and one walk. Edgington went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
 
The Vaqueros took a 1-0 lead in the third on a two-out single by Steven Keller and an RBI double by Tommy White, who went 2-3 with two doubles. In the top of the ninth, Conner Rehage doubled and Abe Ruiz walked but pinch hitter Chris Lauritzen lined to center to end the threat.
 
The Lasers tied it in the seventh with a sacrifice fly off Edgington. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a runner on second, Cole Wilson hit a chopper that went off the glove of shortstop Sam Johnston for an error.
 
"That was Edgington's best start of the year," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "We just didn't get enough hits."
 
The Vaqueros play at Santa Ana, ranked No. 2 in Southern Cal, on Friday at 2 p.m.

Box Score

SBCC.................. 001 000 000 -- 1 7 3
Irvine Valley ...... 000 000 101 -- 2 6 1
 
Edgington, Gardner (8) and Keller; Alva and Williams. W--Alva 2-1. L--Gardner 1-1.
 
2B--SB: Cavaletto, White 2, Rehage.
 
Records--SBCC 5-4, IVC 6-5.


Friday, Feb. 26 -- SBCC at Santa Ana, 2 p.m. SBCC 11, Santa Ana 9  Record: 6-4

Vaqueros rally past No. 2 Santa Ana
Rehage gets four hits; Gunderson shines in relief

 Conner Rehage went 4-for-5 with three RBIs on Friday and DJ Gunderson shut down the No. 2-ranked team in Southern California over the last three innings as SBCC rallied for an 11-9 nonconference baseball win at Santa Ana.
 
"Conner had a monster day and DJ was outstanding, throwing 58 pitches for his first win," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "We came back to beat a great team that has the most wins in Southern Cal over the last three years."
 
Rehage went 4-5 with a two-run homer and three RBIs for the Vaqueros (6-4), who posted their first road win in four tries. Tommy White, Abe Ruiz and Chris Lauritzen all had two hits and two RBIs. Lauritzen, who normally plays third base, made his first start at shortstop in place of the injured Sam Johnston and stole two bases. Rehage's two-run blast gave him the team lead with five home runs.
 
Starter Joe McGrew gave up his first earned runs in his third appearance, allowing six runs on five hits over five innings. Gunderson pitched the last 3 2/3 frames, giving up one run on one hit with five strikeouts with two walks.
 
The Vaqueros led 3-0 and 7-4 before the Dons (6-3) scored five runs in two innings to take a 9-7 lead after six. Rehage and Ruiz singled in the seventh and Lauritzen knocked in Rehage with a single to cut the deficit to one.
 
SBCC scored three unearned runs in the eighth on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Cavaletto and two-out RBI singles by Rehage and Ruiz.
 
"It was a team effort in every sense," Warrecker concluded. "We showed great resolve."
 
The Vaqueros continue their five-game road trip with a doubleheader at Glendale on Tuesday. 

      Box score and play-by-play

SBCC............... 300 130 130 -- 11 12 2
Santa Ana ....... 030 114 000 --  9   8 3
 
McGrew, Smith (6), Gunderson (6) and Keller, Trevino (7); Hively, Perez (5), Slettvet (7), Brattvet (8) and Recio. W--Gunderson 1-0. L--Slettvet 1-1.
 
2B--SB: White, Lauritzen. SA: Tanos, Brett, Apelian, Gar. HR--SB: Rehage (5), 5th inn., one on.
 
Records--SBCC 6-4, SA 6-3.


Tuesday, March 2 -- SBCC at Glendale (DH), 2 p.m. Glendale 8-5, SBCC 2-0  Record: 6-6

SBCC gets swept by Glendale
 
Vaqueros blanked for first time this year

 SBCC's seemingly invincible offense came crashing to a halt on Tuesday in a doubleheader loss at Glendale. The Vaqueros lost 8-2 and 5-0 in a pair of nonconference games at Stengel Field.
 
"We just didn't have it today on offense," noted coach Teddy Warrecker. "In the second game, we only got one leadoff hitter on. We're too talented a group to have days like this."
 
Santa Barbara (6-6) had a season-low four hits in the nightcap and suffered its first shutout. The Vaqueros entered the twinbill averaging 8.4 runs per game.
 
Steven Keller's two-run double tied the opener 2-2 in the fifth innning. Greg Selarz had his best start of the year, pitching into the seventh and giving up just two runs with eight strikeouts. Glendale (8-4) scored five runs in the eighth thanks to a pair of SBCC errors.
 
SBCC was the home team in the opener since it was a makeup of a game previously scheduled for Santa Barbara.
 
The Vaqueros travel to L.A. Mission on Thursday at 2 p.m. 

Game 1 Box         Game 2 Box

  First Game
Glendale ........ 110 000 051 -- 8 13 2
SBCC............... 000 020 000 -- 2  7 3
 
Glendale battery unavailable; Selarz, Turnbull (7), Alvarez (8) and White. L--Turnbull 0-2.
 
2B--SB: Cavaletto, Keller. G: Padilla, Hutter, Osuna.

  Second Game
SBCC.............. 000 000 000 --  0 4 2
Glendale ........ 000 120 20x -- 5 7 1
 
Gardner, Smith (5), Gunderson (7) and Keller; Glendale battery unavailable. L--Gardner 1-2.
 
2B--G: Hutter.
 
Records--SBCC 6-6, Glendale 8-4.


Thursday, March 4 -- SBCC at L.A. Mission, 2 p.m.  SBCC 15, Mission 12 (12 inns.)  Record: 7-6

 Keller leads wild Vaquero win
SBCC has 22 hits in 15-12, 12-inning triumph

 Steven Keller scored the tying run in the ninth and drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th on Thursday as SBCC rallied for a wild 15-12 baseball win in 12 innings at L.A. Mission.
 
The teams combined for 27 runs, 39 hits and 10 errors in the four-hour nonconference marathon at Sylmar.
 
In the 12th, Danny Cavaletto and Tommy White led off with singles and Conner Rehage was intentionally walked to load the bases. Keller made it 13-12 with a sacrifice fly and White and Rehage both scored on a wild pitch. When White made a hard slide to the plate, the ball caromed toward the first-base dugout and Rehage scored from second, boosting the lead to 15-12.
 
White, Rehage, Sam Johnston and Taylor Lyons all had three hits for the Vaqueros (7-6).
 
Kylin Turnbull (1-2) entered in the ninth inning and earned his first college win by holding Mission to two hits in the final 3 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
 
Zach Pecyna provided a spark off the bench, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs. He hit his first homer -- a three-run shot -- to highlight a seven-run sixth that put the visitors ahead 9-5.
 
The Eagles (9-3) regained the upper hand, 10-9, with a four-run eighth. Keller led off the top of the ninth with a triple and scored on a wild pitch. Johnston singled with two outs and Danny Howell homered to make it 12-10.
 
Mission scored twice in the ninth to tie it and had runners on second and third with one out. Turnbull promptly ended the threat with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
"Kylin was spectacular today," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "In the last five innings, we played as well defensively as we have all season."
 
The Vaqueros open WSC North play on Tuesday with a 2 p.m. home date against Oxnard. 

Box score and play-by-play

SBCC ................ 010 017 003 003 -- 15 21 5
L.A. Mission ...... 301 101 042 000 -- 12 17 5
 
Edgington, McGrew (3), Gunderson (8), Turnbull (9) and Keller; Buersma, Young (6), Wilson (6), Muesborn (9) and Montgomery. W--Turnbull 1-2. L--Muesborn.
 
2B--SB: Ruiz, Yost, Johnston, White. LAM: Almondona, Ajer. 3B--SB: Keller. HR--SB: Pecyna (1), 6th inn., two on; Howell (3), 9th inn., one on. LAM: Montgomery, 8th inn., two on; Stern, 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--SBCC 7-6, LAM 9-3.


Tuesday, March 9 (WSC North opener) -- Oxnard at SBCC, 2 p.m.  Oxnard 4, SBCC 2  Records: 7-7, 0-1

Vaqueros drop WSC opener, 4-2
 
Rehage homers twice in loss to Oxnard

 Conner Rehage homered in his first two at-bats on Tuesday but SBCC couldn't take advantage of late opportunities and dropped its WSC North opener to Oxnard 4-2 at Pershing Park.
 
Rehage belted a solo homer that twisted around the right-field foul pole in the second inning and extended the lead to 2-0 with a homer down the left-field line in the fourth. He took over the WSC home-run lead with seven and went 3-for-3 but his teammates only managed five singles.
 
Left-hander Zach Edgington held the Condors' potent offense to two runs on two hits over six innings with six strikeouts and four walks. Oxnard entered the game as the highest-scoring team in the WSC at 10.2 runs per game.
 
Justin Bricker tossed a complete game for Oxnard (9-5, 1-0), allowing eight hits and striking out four. The Vaqueros had seven runners on base in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames but couldn't score. In the last of the eighth, Bricker intentionally walked Rehage to load the bases with two outs but Harper White made a sliding catch of a Steven Keller fly ball near the left-field line to end the inning.
 
"We had our chances," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "The most frustrating aspect was our inability to adjust to the pitcher. With a guy that was predominantly offspeed, we didn't use the right side of the field at all. Consequently in the last innings, he has the exact same pitching pattern, yet we're still being fooled and still being out front.
 
"There was a distinct lack of commitment by our hitters to make an adjustment."
 
Oxnard went ahead on a sacrifice fly in the eighth and made it 4-2 in the ninth on Jake Mahan's RBI single.

Box score

Oxnard ....... 000 002 011 -- 4 7 2
SBCC .......... 010 100 000 -- 2 8 1
 
Bricker and McDonnell; Edgington, Gunderson (7), Turnbull (8), Gardner (8) and Keller. W--Bricker. L--Gunderson 1-1.
 
2B--O: Greve. HR--SB: Rehage (6), 2nd inn., none on; Rehage (7), 4th inn., none on.
 
Records--OC 9-5, 1-0. SBCC 7-7, 0-1.


Thursday, March 11 -- SBCC at Oxnard, 2 p.m.  Oxnard 4, SBCC 2  Records: 7-8, 0-2

SBCC held to three hits in loss
 
Oxnard gets another complete game

 J.C. Aguayo pitched a three-hitter Thursday, leading Oxnard to a 4-2 WSC victory over SBCC.
 
It was the second complete game in three days for the Condors (10-5, 2-0). The visiting Vaqueros cut the deficit to 2-1 on Sam Johnston's bases-loaded walk in the fourth and Abe Ruiz scored in the ninth on Zach Pecyna's fielder's choice.
 
SBCC (7-8, 0-2) has dropped four of its last five. The Vaqueros have scored two runs or less in the four losses.
 
"We didn't do anything at the plate," said SBCC coach Teddy Warrecker. "We did get six walks and two hit batters, so we had some base runners. And we did have some quality at-bats.
 
"The only encouraging thing is we played back-to-back games as poorly as we can play and we were still competitive."
 
Santa Barbara had four errors, leading to two unearned runs.
 
Joe McGrew (2-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. Kylin Turnbull tossed 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
 
"We've gotten great pitching recently but we've got to find a way to get right at the plate and defensively," said Warrecker.

Box score

SBCC .......... 000 100 001 -- 2 3 4
Oxnard ....... 011 001 10x -- 4 9 0
 
McGrew, Turnbull (7) and Keller; Aguayo and McDonnell. W--Aguayo 2-1. L--McGrew 2-1.
 
2B--O: Erb.
 
Records--OC 10-5, 2-0. SBCC 7-8, 0-2.


Saturday, March 13 -- Moorpark at SBCC, 1 p.m.  SBCC 11, Moorpark 2  Records: 8-8, 1-2

Ruiz ignites SBCC's offense
He and Keller homer in 11-2 triumph

 Abe Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and a double Saturday afternoon and SBCC's offense came to life in an 11-2 baseball rout of Moorpark at Pershing Park.
 
"We had a nice team meeting (on Friday) led by our ace pitcher, Zach Edgington, and it brought the group together," said Ruiz, who scored three runs in the first four innings as the Vaqueros built a 6-2 lead. "I finally hit the ball the other way and that made coach happy."
 
Ruiz, a left-handed transfer from Arizona State, drilled his fifth homer to left leading off the third, then doubled in the fourth and came around to score on a balk and wild pitch. Catcher Steven Keller was 3-5 with a two-run homer in the sixth for the Vaqueros (8-8, 1-2), who earned their first WSC North win and improved to 6-2 at home.
 
Sam Johnston, Tommy White, Conner Rehage and Chase Yost all contributed two hits each to the 16-hit attack that included two homers and four doubles.
 
Starting pitcher Greg Selarz (2-0) threw 116 pitches, allowing just two runs on five hits in six innings. He struck out a season-high nine and walked four. In the fifth, he escaped a bases-loaded jam by picking a runner off second and getting a force out.
 
"We got some good at-bats early in the game and got another good effort from our starting pitcher, going six innings," said SBCC coach Teddy Warrecker. "Greg really, really competed today.
 
"We scored 11 runs and that makes life a lot easier."
 
The Vaqueros travel to Moorpark on Tuesday and Ventura on Thursday.

Box Score

Moorpark ...... 100 100 000 --   2  7  3
SBCC ............ 201 313 10x -- 11 16 2
 
Karp, Quesada (5), Hunt (7) and Cobb; Selarz, Gunderson (7), Alvarez (8), Vazquez (9) and Keller. W--Selarz 2-0. L--Karp 0-1.
 
2B--M: Hockenberry, M. Toczynski. SB: White, Pecyna, Ruiz, Yost. HR--SB: Ruiz (5), 3rd inn., none on; Keller (2), 6th inn., one on.
 
Records--MC 5-9-1, 0-3. SBCC 8-8, 1-2.


Tuesday, March 16 -- SBCC at Moorpark, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 11, Moorpark 6  Records: 9-8, 2-2

 Ruiz homers twice in 11-6 win
Rehage belts eighth round-tripper at Moorpark

 Abe Ruiz drilled a pair of homers and drove in three runs Tuesday, guiding SBCC to an 11-6 baseball win at Moorpark. Conner Rehage hit his WSC-leading eighth homer -- a two-run shot in the fifth -- to put the Vaqueros ahead 10-0.
 
Ruiz unloaded a solo shot in the third and a two-run blast in the fifth. He's homered three times in the last two games, raising his season total to seven. Rehage drove in three runs while Danny Cavaletto went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Vaqueros (9-8, 2-2 WSC), who piled up 11 runs and 16 hits for the second straight game.
 
SBCC has 27 homers in 17 games and the pitching staff has only allowed seven. The Vaqueros have scored double-digits seven times this year.
 
"Our offense was great but we still have a long way to go on defense," said coach Teddy Warrecker, whose team committed three errors.
 
Zach Edgington (2-2) got the victory, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and five walks. DJ Gunderson was strong in relief, giving up one single in 1 2/3 innings and getting a ground-ball double play to end the game.

Box Score

SBCC ............ 105 041 000 -- 11 16 3
Moorpark ...... 000 004 200 --   6  8 1
 
Edgington, Gardner (6), Gunderson (8) and Keller; Montgomery, Auger (3), Hunt (5), Quesada (7) and Travnick. W--Edgington 2-2. L--Montgomery 2-2.
 
2B--M: Birgel. HR--SB: Ruiz (6), 3rd inn., none on; Ruiz (7), 5th inn., one on; Rehage (8), 5th inn., one on.
 
Records--SBCC 9-8, 2-2. MC 5-10-1, 0-4.


Thursday, March 18 -- SBCC at Ventura, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 19, Ventura 6  Records: 10-8, 3-2

Johnston goes deep twice in 19-6 rout
   
Howell adds homer in third straight win

 Sam Johnston blasted his first two homers and drove in four runs Thursday, leading SBCC to a 19-6 WSC North baseball rout at Ventura.
 
Johnston, a freshman shortstop from Kenmore, Wash., went 4-for-6 with two homers, a double and three runs scored. He hit a two-run shot in the second and a solo blast in the fifth for the Vaqueros (10-8, 3-2), who scored a season-high 19 runs on 19 hits. SBCC has amassed 41 runs on 51 hits while winning its last three games.
 
"I had a long sit-down with Sam after practice (on Wednesday)," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "Progress won't come without change. He's carrying a huge load as a freshman shortstop hitting leadoff. I think he took our talk to heart."
 
Tommy White went 3-for-5 with an RBI while Daniel Howell was 2-4 with a homer and three RBIs. The Vaqueros scored seven runs in the third and five more in the fourth to take a 16-0 lead. Every starter had at least one hit.
 
Howell led off the fifth with a prodigious solo homer. "He hit it across the street and it landed in someone's yard," noted Warrecker. "Don Adams (Ventura's veteran coach) said it was the longest homer he's even seen in their park."
 
Joe McGrew (3-1) went seven innings and allowed six runs (one earned) with seven strikeouts. The Vaqueros turned three double plays but also had five errors.
 
The same teams will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pershing Park.

Box Score and Play-by-Play

SBCC ............ 137 510 200 -- 19 19 5
Ventura ........ 000 033 000 --   6  7 6

 McGrew, Alvarez (8), Perry (9) and Keller, Trevino (8); Gwynn, Perkins (3), Tybursky (3), Geary (3), Hotchkiss (6), Doherty (8) and Lipman. W--McGrew 3-1. L--Gwynn.
 2B--SB: Johnston, White, Cavaletto, Howell. V: Grattan, Solis, Barry. HR--SB: Johnston (1), 2nd inn., one on; Howell (4), 5th inn., none on; Johnston (2), 5th inn., none on.
 Records--SBCC 10-8, 3-2. VC 6-8, 1-4.


Saturday, March 20 -- Ventura at SBCC, 1 p.m.  SBCC 7, Ventura 1  Records: 11-8, 4-2 WSC North

Selarz is sharp in fourth straight win
  
Keller, Lauritzen homer in 7-1 victory

 Greg Selarz held Ventura to one run in seven innings on Saturday afternoon, guiding SBCC to a 7-1 WSC baseball victory at Pershing Park.
 
Steven Keller hit a solo homer in the second and Christopher Lauritzen made it 5-0 with a two-run blast in the fourth as the Vaqueros (11-8, 4-2 WSC North) rolled to their fourth straight victory. SBCC has outscored the opposition 48-15 during the win streak.
 
Keller, Sam Johnston, Abe Ruiz and Chase Yost all had two hits.
 
"This was probably our most complete game of the year as far as pitching, hitting and defense," said 10th-year coach Teddy Warrecker. "Greg has done a great job for us on Saturdays. He was very much in control. He's not uncomfortable with guys on base."
 
Selarz, a sophomore right-hander from Calabasas, improved to 3-0 by holding the left-handed rich Pirates (6-9, 1-5) to eight singles over seven innings with six strikeouts, one walk and three hit batters. Kylin Turnbull pitched the final two frames, allowing one hit with two strikeouts.
 
"Having the luxury of a well-rested Turnbull for two innings is huge," stated Warrecker. "It's a byproduct of our starters going deep into games and we really struggled with that last year. Kyle had dominating stuff and I expect him to keep getting better in the future."
 
With a 5-1 lead in the sixth, Danny Cavaletto, Daniel Howell and Lauritzen were hit by pitches to load the bases with one out. Following a strikeout, Ruiz drilled a two-run single up the middle to extend the lead to 7-1.
 
The defense turned two double plays and had just one error.
 
"We were much better defensively today," noted Warrecker. "That's the last phase of the game that we've got to be good at because we've been pitching and hitting exceptionally well.
 
"I've been preaching to them all week that once we get good on the defensive side, this team could really start to roll."

Box Score

Ventura ......... 000 001 000 --  1  9 3
SBCC ............. 011 302 00x -- 7 10 1
 
Gallardo, Pinto (5), Perkins (6), Dann (7), Hong (8) and Lipman; Selarz, Turnbull (8) and Keller, Trevino (8). W--Selarz 3-0. L--Gallardo 0-1.
 
2B--SB: Yost, Johnston. HR--SB: Keller (3), 2nd inn., none on; Lauritzen (1), 4th inn., one on.
 
Records--VC 6-9, 1-5. SBCC 11-8, 4-2.


Tuesday, March 23 -- SBCC at Hancock, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 13, Hancock 3  Records: 12-8, 5-2 (2nd place WSC North)

   Ruiz has another two-homer day
Vaqueros stroke five homers in 13-3 rout at Hancock

 If there's a level above red-hot hitting, that's where Abe Ruiz is hanging out these days.
 
The sophomore third baseman went 4-for-6 with two homers, a double and four RBIs on Tuesday, leading SBCC to a 13-3 rout of Hancock in Santa Maria. The Vaqueros (12-8, 5-2) pounded five homers and won for the fifth straight time to move into sole possession of second place in the WSC North.
 
SBCC, which has outscored its opponents 61-18 during the win streak, hit double digits in runs for the fourth time in five games and ninth overall.
 
"I said our last game was our most complete game but we went one better today," said coach Teddy Warrecker.
 
It was the second two-homer game in the last four for Ruiz, who also scored three runs and raised his average to .367. The left-handed transfer from Arizona State belted a solo homer in the fifth and he and White went back-to-back in the seventh, extending the margin to 13-0. Ruiz took over the team and WSC lead with his ninth home run.
 
Daniel Howell, Chase Yost and Tommy White all had two hits, including a solo homer. The Vaqueros boosted their season total to 37, which is just 12 shy of the 2007 school record.
 
Sam Johnston, the starting shortstop, didn't make the trip due to illness. Danny Cavaletto was hit in the head by a pitch in the first and replaced by Taylor Lyons, who went 3-for-5. Zach Pecyna was also 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
 
Left-hander Zach Edgington went seven-plus innings, allowing three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. He got outstanding support from the defense, which didn't commit an error for the first time this year.
 
"He was outstanding," said Warrecker of Edgington. "He had his best fastball of the year."

Box Score

SBCC ........... 222 410 300 -- 13 16 0
Hancock ....... 000 000 030 --  3   8 2
 
Edgington, Alvarez (8) and Keller; Creath, Turbes (4), Halop (6) and Young. W--Edgington 3-2. L--Creath 5-1.
 
2B--SB: Ruiz, Pecyna. H: Jones. HR--SB: Howell (5), 2nd inn., none on; Yost (2), 3rd inn., none on; Ruiz (8), 5th inn., none on; Ruiz (9), 7th inn., one on; White (5), 7th inn., none on.
 
Records--SBCC 12-8, 5-2. AHC 11-8, 4-3.


Thursday, March 25 -- Hancock at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.  Hancock 4, SBCC 3  Records: 12-9, 5-3 (2nd in WSC North)

Squeeze bunt sinks Vaqueros 4-3
  
Howell's homer ties it in eighth

 Hancock scored the go-ahead run on a squeeze bunt in the top of the ninth on Thursday and went on edge SBCC 4-3 in a WSC North baseball game at Pershing Park.
 
Daniel Howell tied it at 3 with a solo homer in the eighth. It was his second round-tripper in two games and sixth on the year. The Vaqueros (12-9, 5-3) had their five-game win streak snapped and are now tied for second with Hancock.
 
It was just the third loss in the last 17 home games, dating back to last season. SBCC is 7-3 at Pershing this year.
 
Tommy White went 3-5, Taylor Lyons was 2-4 with an RBI single and Chris Lauritzen had a run-scoring triple. DJ Gunderson allowed one run on two hits with five strikeouts in three innings of relief.
 
"Give credit to (Cody) Berryman, he held us to two runs in six innings," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "They executed in the ninth to win it."

Box Score

Hancock ...... 000 120 001 -- 4 11 1
SBCC ........... 000 200 010 -- 3  8 2

 Berryman, Valenzuela (7) and Young; McGrew, Gunderson (6), Turnbull (9), Gardner (9) and Keller. W--Valenzuela. L--Gunderson 1-2.
 2B--H: Rivera. SB: Keller. 3B--H: Moore. SB: Lauritzen. HR--H: Moore, 4th inn., none on. SB: Howell (6), 8th inn., none on.
 Records--AHC 12-8, 5-3. SBCC 12-9, 5-3.


Saturday, March 27 -- SBCC at Cuesta, 1 p.m.  SBCC 9, Cuesta 1  Records: 13-9, 6-3 (tied for 2nd WSC North) 

  Selarz shines in 9-1 victory
'Mr. Saturday' allows no earned runs at Cuesta

 SBCC right-hander Greg Selarz continued to sparkle on Saturdays, holding Cuesta to no earned runs in a 9-1 WSC North baseball victory in San Luis Obispo.
 
Selarz went eight innings, allowing six hits with two strikeouts and two walks. He's 4-0 on the year and 3-0 on Saturdays.
 
"Justin Aspegren (the pitching coach) said it was one of the easier games he's called because Greg was throwing everything for strikes," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "His command was superior."
 
Taylor Lyons went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs for the Vaqueros (13-9, 6-3), who are tied for second with Hancock in the WSC North, one game behind Oxnard (7-2). Daniel Howell was 2-4 with a pair of RBIs and Tommy White delivered a two-run triple during a four-run uprising in the third.
 
SBCC turned three double plays on the way to its sixth win in seven games.
 
The Vaqueros will play three games in three days in the Channel Coast Tournament, starting with Porterville on Tuesday and L.A. Valley on Wednesday. Both games are at Pershing Park at 2:30 p.m.

Box Score

SBCC ........... 014 111 001 -- 9 15 3
Cuesta ......... 000 000 100 -- 1   7 2
 
Selarz, Gardner (9) and Keller; Reed, Gerber (4), Tiedemann (6) and Prophet. W--Selarz 4-0. L--Reed 2-2.
 
2B--SB: Howell 2, Ruiz, Yost. 3B--SB: White.
 
Records--SBCC 13-9, 6-3. Cuesta 11-10, 4-5.


Tuesday, March 30 -- Channel Coast Tournament: Porterville at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 8, Porterville 3  Record: 14-9

Gardner shuts down Porterville
 
Howell, Rehage homer in 8-3 victory

 SBCC broke open a 1-1 tie with three runs in the fifth inning on a windy Tuesday at Pershing Park and Ryan Gardner turned in a sharp pitching performance in an 8-3 baseball win over Porterville.
 
Daniel Howell and Conner Rehage belted solo homers for the Vaqueros, who improved to 14-9 with their seventh win in eight games. They're 14-0 when scoring seven or more runs.
 
Gardner went 6 2/3 innings, holding the Pirates to three runs (two earned) on seven hits with nine strikeouts and one walk in the opener of the Channel Coast Tournament. It was just the second start of the year for Gardner, who's normally a middle reliever.
 
"We played well as a team," said Gardner. "My fastball and splitter were working all day. I was trying to get ground balls and have the defense work for me."
 
Reliever D.J. Gunderson got out of a two-out, two-on jam in the seventh with a strikeout. The sidearmer pitched the last 2 1/3 innings to pick up his second save.
 
Howell hit his seventh homer in the second and Rehage drove in two runs with a double in the fifth and a solo homer leading off the eighth. Rehage is batting .378 with nine homers, which ties him for the team and WSC lead with teammate Abe Ruiz.
 "To hit two home runs on a day like today is almost unheard of in this park and Conner's homer just snuck out," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "Danny Howell took a year off (as a redshirt) and almost missed the entire fall due to injury. It was a struggle at the beginning of the season but I thought he was a championship-level player and he's starting to play like one.
 
"In the fifth inning, we had three two-out, two-strike RBIs and those were big."
 
Ruiz, Tommy White and Rehage drove in the runs in the fifth, boosting the lead to 4-1. Porterville pulled within 4-3 on Tommy Acevedo's RBI double in the seventh. The Vaqueros scored a run in the seventh when Chris Lauritzen doubled, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and alertly stole home after the catcher dropped a third strike and threw to first.
 
SBCC added three runs in the eighth on Rehage's homer, a double-play groundout by Tyler Lyons and a wild pitch that brought in Steven Keller.
 
"Our pitching has been outstanding lately," noted Warrecker, whose team is 8-3 at home. "Ryan, in only his second start of the year, goes over 100 pitches. He really competed in the strike zone. And D.J. Gunderson is as reliable a reliever as I've had in 10 years. He's been unbelievable this year."
 
The Vaqueros will host L.A. Valley on Wednesday in the round-robin tourney. On Thursday, they'll travel to Ventura College for a 10 a.m. game against L.A. Mission.

Box Score

Porterville ....... 001 001 100 -- 3 6 2
SBCC ............... 010 030 13x -- 8 8 2
 
Hebert, Duran (6), Lemke (8) and Rogers; Gardner, Gunderson (7) and White, Keller (8). W--Gardner 2-2. L--Hebert. S--Gunderson 2.
 
2B--P: Hebert, Acevedo. SB: Rehage, Lauritzen, Keller. HR--SB: Howell (7), 2nd inn., none on; Rehage (9), 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--PC 2-19. SBCC 14-9.


Wednesday, March 31 -- Channel Coast Tournament: L.A. Valley at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 7, L.A. Valley 3  Record: 15-9

McGrew tosses 8 innings in 7-3 win
 He holds Valley to 4 hits; Keller hits 4th homer

 Joe McGrew threw eight dominating innings Wednesday and SBCC rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat L.A. Valley 7-3 on the second day of the Channel Coast Baseball Tournament at Pershing Park.
 
Leadoff hitter Danny Cavaletto went 2-4 and had a two-run single to right during a five-run uprising in the second. Catcher Steven Keller hit his fourth homer, a solo shot in the eighth, to boost the lead to 6-3 and Taylor Lyons added an RBI double. The Vaqueros (15-9) won for the eighth time in nine games and improved to 9-3 at home.
 
"I was looking for something on the outside half," said Cavaletto, one of five former Dos Pueblos High players on the squad. "With a full count, I was looking for anything close."
 
Santa Barbara, which has 41 homers this year, improved to 15-0 when scoring seven or more runs.
 
McGrew, a sophomore left-hander who's signed to play at UCSB, held the Monarchs to three unearned runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked three to improve to 4-1.
 
"I didn't exactly have my best stuff, so I figured out what was working and went with that," said the 6-4 McGrew, who struck out the side in the eighth, capped by a strikeout of pinch-hitter Brandon Ashford on three straight curveballs with runners on first and second. "We're finding the barrel on offense and making adjustments throughout the game. Our team's starting to take off."
 
Coach Teddy Warrecker said McGrew was able to throw his breaking ball for strikes. In one stretch, from the third to the eighth innings, he faced the minimum of 15 batters and didn't allow a hit.
 
"He went to the curve later in the day and had great command," Warrecker said. "He threw three straight to the pinch hitter to get the great punchout there. Then Kylin (Turnbull) comes on and throws a dominating ninth inning.
 
"I think Sam Johnston had one of his best days at shortstop. His ability to verbalize and be the quarterback of the infield is really starting to show up."
 
The Vaqueros' final game in the tourney against L.A. Mission has been postponed from Thursday to Friday. It's tenatively scheduled for noon at SBCC but could move, depending on whether or not the Vaquero softball team gets rained out on Thursday.

Box Score

L.A. Valley ....... 030 000 000 -- 3 4 4
SBCC ............... 050 000 02x -- 7 6 3
 
Robles, Goebel (6) and Castellanos; McGrew, Turnbull (9) and Keller. W--McGrew 4-1. L--Robles 1-1.
 
2B--SB: Lyons. HR--SB: Keller (4), 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--LAV 5-16-1. SBCC 15-9.


Friday, April 2 -- Channel Coast Tournament: L.A. Mission at SBCC, noon.  SBCC 5, L.A. Mission 4  Record: 16-9

Edgington throws six-hitter with 13 Ks
White's RBI single in eighth lifts Vaqueros to 5-4 win

 Zach Edgington tossed SBCC's first complete game of the season on Friday afternoon -- a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts -- and the Vaqueros rallied with two runs in the eighth to beat L.A. Mission 5-4 at Pershing Park.
 
Santa Barbara (16-9) went 3-0 in the Channel Coast Baseball Tournament and improved to 10-3 at home. The Vaqueros, ranked 19th in Southern California, have captured four straight and nine of their last 10. It was their first win in 10 tries when scoring less than seven runs.
 
Danny Cavaletto had three hits and drove in the tying run with a one-out single in the eighth. Steven Keller beat out an infield single and Tommy White brought home Cavaletto with the go-ahead run on an RBI single to right.
 
"I just had a feeling they were going to stick with their approach of throwing me off-speed on the first pitch," said White, an outfielder who came back from Tommy John elbow surgery in the spring of 2008. "I was 1-4 in the game and hadn't been seeing the ball as well as I'd like to. There were runners on first and third and I didn't want to hit on the ground for a double play. I looped it to right and got the run home."
 
Zach Pecyna went 4-for-4 and drove in SBCC's second run to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth.
 
It was the third straight outstanding start from a Vaquero pitcher, coming on the heels of strong efforts by Ryan Gardner and Joe McGrew.
 
Edgington, a left-hander who's signed with UCSB, retired 13 straight from the first to the fifth. The string was snapped by Nico Garcia's solo homer that gave Mission a 3-2 lead.
 
"I had a really good curveball for the first time all year and my changeup was going really good," said Edgington, a sophomore from San Mateo who allowed just two earned runs with one walk. "The offense picked me up. They told me they were going to get the lead in the eighth and they did it."
 
Mission took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on an RBI single by A.J. Dupre.
 
"I'm shocked to look at the box score and see that we had 15 hits because it seemed like we were consistently spinning our wheels," said coach Teddy Warrecker, whose team struck out 11 times and left 12 runners on base. "I've been waiting for that type of performance from Edgington. He has dominating stuff for this level.
 
"As we're getting further into the year, it seems like our starters are getting stronger and stronger, which bodes very well for us."
 
The Eagles (14-11) had runners at first and second with two outs in the ninth. Edgington induced a chopper to third and Chris Lauritzen knocked it down on the short-hop, then gunned to first for the final out. "Conner Rehage made a couple of good plays on low throws to first," noted Warrecker. "A trip to the bench as the DH has re-ignited his will to defend."
 
The Vaqueros return to WSC North play on Thursday with a 2:30 p.m. home game against Cuesta.

Box Score

L.A. Mission ........ 200 011 000 -- 4   6 1
SBCC .................. 001 110 02x -- 5 15 2
 
Hamilton, Boersma (6), Faust (8) and S. Parma, Montgomery (6); Edgington and Keller. W--Edgington 4-2. L--Faust 1-1.
 
2B--LAM: Almendarez. SB: Keller, Lauritzen. HR--LAM: Garcia, 5th inn., none on.
 
Records--LAM 14-11. SBCC 16-9.


Thursday, April 8 -- Cuesta at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 3, Cuesta 2  Records: 17-9, 7-3

 White does it again for Vaqueros
He drives in game-winning run; Edgington fans 11

 Daniel Howell tied the game with a solo homer in the sixth inning on Thursday at Pershing Park and Tommy White put SBCC ahead with an RBI single in the seventh as the Vaqueros rallied for a 3-2 WSC North baseball victory over Cuesta.
 It was the fifth straight win and 10th in 11 games for Santa Barbara (17-9, 7-3), which remained one game back of first-place Oxnard. The Condors (8-2) edged Hancock (6-4) on Thursday 7-6.
 Sophomore left-hander Zach Edgington turned another solid performance after a rocky start. He gave up two runs on five hits in the first three innings, then proceeded to retire 13 straight batters. He struck out 11, including five in a row from the third through fifth frames, and has fanned 24 in his last two starts.
 "In the second and third inning, I wasn't getting ahead and the ball was up," said Edgington. "I was getting behind 2-0 and 2-1, so I had to come in and give them pitches to hit. The rest of the game, I made a conscious effort to get ahead and then I can throw the pitch I want to throw."
 Chris Lauritzen went 3-for-3 and scored the game-winning run. He led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on White's line-drive single to left. White, who went 2-4, leads the Vaqueros in batting at .447.
 Howell, the son of former Major Leaguer Roy Howell, belted his eighth homer of the season with one out in the sixth. SBCC leads the state in homers with 42.
 Right-hander Jon Moscot pitched well for Cuesta (13-13, 4-6), allowing eight hits, two earned runs and striking out 10 in a complete-game effort.
 "Moscot is a playoff-type pitcher," said coach Teddy Warrecker, whose club is 11-3 at home. "We got down 2-0 and then did just enough to win the ball game."
 SBCC cut the deficit to 2-1 after loading the bases with two outs in the sixth. Moscot hit Abe Ruiz in the helmet while trying to pick him off second base and Danny Cavaletto alertly came home when the ball caromed to the left of the mound.
 Edgington didn't walk a batter until the eighth when he walked two straight. After a sacrifice bunt, submariner D.J. Gunderson replaced him and got a groundout back to the box and struck out Ty Muller looking to end the threat. Gunderson opened the ninth with a walk before retiring the side 1-2-3 for his third save.
 "D.J.'s been solid all year," said Edgington. "I knew he'd get those guys out for me."
 The Vaqueros will host Oxnard in a first-place showdown on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Box Score

Cuesta .......... 011 000 000 -- 2 5 1
SBCC ............ 000 011 10x -- 3 8 0
 
Moscot and Prophet; Edgington, Gunderson (8) and Keller. W--Edgington 5-2. L--Moscot 6-2. S--Gunderson 3.
 
2B--C: Prophet, Cunningham, Miller. HR--SB: Howell (8), 6th inn., none on.
 
Records--CC 13-13, 4-6. SBCC 17-9, 7-3.


Saturday, April 10 -- Oxnard at SBCC, 1 p.m.  Oxnard 24, SBCC 9  Records: 17-10, 7-4 WSC North (2nd)

    Oxnard routs Vaqueros 24-9
Cavaletto drives in four runs in 1st-place showdown

 The second round of WSC North play started the same way as the first on Saturday and it was hard to find the positives for SBCC in a first-place baseball showdown with Oxnard.
 
The Vaqueros committed nine errors and endured a 15-run sixth inning in a 24-9 loss at Pershing Park. Oxnard (19-8, 9-2) took a two-game lead in the WSC North by pounding out 26 hits, including seven doubles.
 
The Condors beat Santa Barbara by the same 4-2 score in the first two games of conference play.
 
Danny Cavaletto went 2-5 with a three-run double and four RBIs for the Vaqueros (17-10, 7-4), who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
 
"It starts on the defensive side of the ball," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "We committed seven combined errors at shortstop (by 3 players). I can't remember ever giving up 24 runs in our park or seeing a 15-run inning. I don't have any explanation for what went on.
 
"Without being prophetic or anything, I said before the game that no matter what happens, worst-case scenario, we're in second place going into Tuesday (when they play at Oxnard)."
 
It was Santa Barbara's first loss in 16 games when scoring seven or more runs. Tommy White, the Vaqueros' leading hitter who had game-winning hits in the last two outings, missed the game with a sprained ankle.
 
The Condors jumped ahead 6-0 in the fourth before Cavaletto's bases-clearing double to left. Oxnard made it 7-3 on Brad Greve's RBI single, then the Vaqueros cut it to 7-5 on back-to-back homers by Daniel Howell and Steven Keller with one out in the fifth.
 
It was the second homer in as many games for Howell, who now has nine bombs, moving him into a tie for the team lead with Conner Rehage and Abe Ruiz. The trio has the second-most homers in the state and the Vaqueros lead the state with 44 round-trippers. They need five more to tie the 2007 school record of 49 in a season.
 
"We battled back and got within two but guys who've been doing it for us all year on the mound just didn't get it done today," said Warrecker. "It's a terrible day but it's just one game during a long season. Hopefully, our guys can put this behind them and be more competitive on Tuesday."
 
Oxnard sent 19 batters to the plate in the sixth against five Vaquero pitchers. The Condors collected 15 runs on 13 hits. Winning pitcher Bryan Willson batted three times in the inning and had a homer, a single and three RBIs.
 
The Vaqueros had 12 hits, including two apiece by Rehage, Zach Pecyna and Chase Yost, but also struck out 11 times against four Condor hurlers.

Box Score

Oxnard ........ 211 21(15) 002 -- 24 26 2
SBCC ........... 000 322    110 --   9 12 9

 Willson, Adame (6), Columbia (8), Dufratus (9) and McDonnell; McGrew, Gardner (4), Turnbull (6), Gunderson (6), Perry (6), Alvarez (6), Vasquez (9) and Keller, Trevino (8). W--Willson. L--McGrew 4-2.
 2B--O: Greve 2, Reveles 2, Willson, Erb, McNally. SB: Cavaletto 2, Ruiz, Rehage. HR--O: Willson, 6th inn., none on. SB: Howell (9), 5th inn., none on; Keller (5), 5th inn., none on.
 Records--OC 19-8, 9-2. SBCC 17-10, 7-4.


Tuesday, April 13 -- SBCC at Oxnard, 2:30 p.m.  Oxnard 11, SBCC 8  Records: 17-11, 7-5 WSC North

  Oxnard rallies for 11-8 win
Rehage homers, collects 4 RBIs for SBCC

 SBCC erased a 4-0 deficit and took an 8-6 lead in the eighth inning on Tuesday afternoon before Oxnard rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth to post an 11-8 baseball victory over the visiting Vaqueros.
 
Oxnard (20-8, 10-2) bolstered its position atop the WSC North while the Vaqueros fell to 17-11 and 7-5. The Condors took the season series 4-0.
 
Conner Rehage belted his team-high 10th homer, a three-run shot over the scoreboard in the fourth, to pull Santa Barbara within one at 4-3. "I've been coming to Oxnard for 10 years and that was only the second time I've seen a right-handed hitter hit it over the left-field wall," said coach Teddy Warrecker.
 
Danny Cavaletto went 4-for-6 and had two doubles for the second straight game while Rehage was 3-5 with four RBIs and Chase Yost was 2-4 with two RBIs. SBCC outhit Oxnard 17-12.
 
Yost's RBI double tied it at 6 in the sixth and the Vaqueros took an 8-6 lead with two outs in the eighth. Cavaletto doubled and scored on a single by Yost, who went to second on the throw. Abe Ruiz then drove in Yost with a hit.
 
Oxnard's five runs in the eighth all came with two outs.
 
"Early in the game, Abe hit a ball just foul that would have been a three-run homer," noted Warrecker. "In the sixth, Conner was called out at home and we thought the catcher never tagged him. That's four runs off the board.
 
"But give credit to Oxnard, they came back and got hits when they needed to."

Box Score

SBCC ........... 000 411 020 --  8  17 4
Oxnard ........ 004 200 05x -- 11 12 2
 
Selarz, Gunderson (3), Edgington (8), Gardner (8) and Keller; Bricker, Reyes (9) and McDonnell. W--Bricker. L--Gunderson 1-3. S--Reyes.
 
2B--SB: Cavaletto 2, Yost, Keller. O: Wilson. HR--SB: Rehage (10), 4th inn., two on.
 
Records--SBCC 17-11, 7-5. OC 20-8, 10-2.


Thursday, April 15 -- SBCC at Moorpark, 2:30 p.m.  Moorpark 3, SBCC 2  Records: 17-12, 7-6

Vaqueros held to four hits in 3-2 loss
   
Moorpark's Hunt strikes out 13

 Landon Hunt tossed a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts Thursday and Moorpark rallied for a 3-2 baseball victory over SBCC.
 
It was the third straight loss for the visiting Vaqueros (17-12, 7-6), who remained in third place in the WSC North. Oxnard leads the pack at 10-3, followed by Hancock at 9-4.
 
Daniel Howell knocked in a run for Santa Barbara with an RBI double and Abe Ruiz made it 2-0 in the sixth when he drove in Danny Cavaletto with a single. Moorpark (9-18-1, 2-11) scored all three runs in the seventh.
 
Zach Edgington pitched 6 1/3 innings for the Vaqueros, allowing three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Box Score

SBCC .............. 000 101 000 -- 2 4 0
Moorpark ........ 000 000 30x -- 3 6 3
 
Edgington, Selarz (7), Turnbull (7) and Keller; Hunt and Travnick. W--Hunt. L--Edgington 5-3.
 
2B--SB: Howell.
 
Records--SBCC 17-12, 7-6. MC 9-18-1, 2-11.


Saturday, April 17 -- Moorpark at SBCC, 1 p.m.  SBCC 19, Moorpark 4  Records: 18-12, 8-6

  Ruiz ignites Vaquero offense
He collects 5 hits, 5 runs and a homer in 19-4 rout

 What a difference two days can make.
 
Just 48 hours after managing four hits in a 3-2 loss at Moorpark, SBCC exploded for 19 runs on 19 hits in a 19-4 win over the same Raider squad on Saturday at Pershing Park. The third-place Vaqueros (18-12, 8-6 WSC North) snapped a three-game losing skid and improved to 13-4 at home.
 
SBCC tried to change its luck by wearing black uniform tops and it worked for the second straight year. "It was blackout Saturday," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "Expect to see us in black again on Tuesday."
 
Second baseman Abe Ruiz had a career day, going 5-for-6 with a homer, a triple, four RBIs and five runs scored for SBCC, which tied its season high for runs. He finished a double shy of the cycle.
 
"I was staying on the ball a little better, staying up the middle and just making contact," said the left-hand hitting Ruiz, a sophomore transfer from Arizona State. "We had a tough three-game stretch and it was good to put it all together for nine innings."
 
Ruiz moved from third to second base two weeks ago after separating his shoulder. He got hits in four straight innings and scored four times in the third through sixth frames when the Vaqueros piled up 15 runs.
 
Conner Rehage belted a two-run homer during a six-run fourth inning and Steven Keller added a two-run shot in the fifth, boosting the lead to 16-2. Rehage, a sophomore from Dos Pueblos High, is second in the state with 11 home runs. With three round-trippers on Saturday, the Vaqueros raised their state-leading total to 48, one shy of the 2007 school record.
 
Santa Barbara is 16-2 when scoring seven or more runs.
 
"That's the maddening part about this game -- 48 hours later Abe has more hits than we had as a team," said Warrecker. "This was a very important win for us. We have to keep winning to stay in this thing.
 
"We had some great two-strike RBIs and we hit for power today."
 
Southpaw Joe McGrew (5-2) tossed seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Tyler Weed and Matt Montgomery hit back-to-back homers in the sixth for Moorpark (9-19-1, 2-12).
 
Tim Alvarez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Ryan Gardner struck out the side in the ninth.
 
"We got two scoreless innings out of the bullpen and didn't commit an error for the second straight game," added Warrecker. "In the fourth inning, we got a great sliding catch by Abe on a popup (behind first base) and a great throw to first by (third baseman) Danny Howell."

Box Score

Moorpark ....... 000 202 000 --   4  7  2
SBCC ............. 015 642 01x -- 19 19 0
 
Karp, Donahoe (4), Bergman (4), Auger (6), Leitner (8) and Cobb; McGrew, Alvarez (8), Gardner (9) and Keller, Trevino (8). W--McGrew 5-2. L--Karp.
 
2B--SB: White. 3B--M: Bonenfant, Montgomery. SB: Rehage, Ruiz. HR--M: Weed, 6th inn., none on; Montgomery, 6th inn., none on. SB: Rehage (11), 4th inn., one on; Keller (6), 5th inn., one on; Ruiz (10), 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--MC 9-19-1, 2-12. SBCC 18-12, 8-6.


Wednesday, April 21 -- SBCC at Ventura, 2:30 p.m.  Ventura 5, SBCC 0  Records: 18-13, 8-7 WSC North

Ventura blanks Vaqueros 5-0
SBCC gets just six hits in WSC road loss

 SBCC was held to six hits on Wednesday in a 5-0 WSC North baseball setback at Ventura College.
 
Steven Keller had two hits for the third-place Vaqueros (18-13, 8-7), who were blanked for just the second time this year. Erik Hong and A.J. Gallardo combined on the shutout for the Pirates (14-16, 6-9).
 
The Vaqueros had scored 19 runs in their previous game.
 
"It was one of those days where we didn't do much of anything," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "We played well defensively for the third straight game with 13 groundball outs.
 
"But it's disappointing that we didn't do more on offense, considering where we are in the season (five games left). On the positive side, we get to go back out there tomorrow and hopefully, play with more of a sense of urgency."
 
The same teams meet on Thursday at Pershing Park with the first pitch at 2:30 p.m.

Box Score

SBCC ........... 000 000 000 -- 0 6 2
Ventura ....... 000 202 10x -- 5 8 1
 
Selarz, Turnbull (7), Gardner (8) and Keller; Hong, Gallardo (6) and Lipman. W--Hong. L--Selarz 4-1. S--Gallardo.
 
2B--SB: Lyons. 3B--V: Lipman.
 
Records--SBCC 18-13, 8-7. VC 14-16, 6-9.


Thursday, April 22 -- Ventura at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.  SBCC 4, Ventura 2  Records: 19-13, 9-7

Edgington fans school-record 21
 
Left-hander tosses six-hitter in 4-2 win

 SBCC's Zach Edgington turned in a spectacular performance on Thursday at Pershing Park with a school-record 21 strikeouts in a 4-2 baseball victory over Ventura. The sophomore left-hander, who's signed to play for UCSB next year, tossed a six-hitter for his second complete game. He didn't walk a batter until there were two outs in the ninth.
 
Tommy White, the WSC's top hitter at .438, had a two-run single in a three-run third as the third-place Vaqueros improved to 19-13 overall and 9-7 in the WSC North with four games remaining.
 
Edgington (6-3), who was clocked at 90 mph in the early innings, struck out at least two batters in eight of nine innings. He fanned four in the seventh (after a throwing error) and rang up the side in the first and the ninth. Eight of his Ks came with the batters looking at strike three, including all three outs in the ninth.
 
He struck out every batter in the lineup, getting shortstop Thomas Quackenbush for the first time on the final out. The 21 strikeouts moved the WSC leader into second in the state with 97 Ks (in 75 2/3 innings), just one behind the leader, Kyle Petter of El Camino.
 
"I knew I had a good amount of strikeouts but I didn't know I had 21," said Edgington, after lowering his ERA to 2.74. "That's pretty cool. Everything was working for me. The curveball was there the whole time. My changeup wasn't working at the start but I found it and I had good velo (velocity) and pretty good command with the fastball."
 
After Ventura pulled within 3-2 with an unearned run in the seventh, catcher Steven Keller belted a two-out solo homer in the eighth, extending the lead to 4-2. The blast was the 49th of the year for the Vaqueros and tied the 2007 school record, which was set in 12 more games.
 
Keller had three of his team's six hits and drove in two runs.
 
"At the beginning of the season, I said Zach was a bona fide ace," noted SBCC coach Teddy Warrecker. "I didn't know he had 21 strikeouts until I heard it after the game on the PA. I did know that he stranded three leadoff doubles by striking out guys with runners in scoring position.
 
"His pitch-count was high as a result of striking out so many guys. In the ninth, he had four three-ball counts and he ended up throwing 160 pitches. He was having a little bit of an issue with his groin last week and it was definitely affecting him. I said, 'Just be honest with us if you're not feeling 100 percent.' Our training staff did a great job during the week getting him prepared.
 
"I felt like he still had a great fastball at the end of the game, so he wasn't showing any external signs of fatigue. He struck out 21 and maybe he had to do that today because we didn't do much offensively."

Box Score

Ventura ....... 000 010 100 -- 2 6 2
SBCC .......... 003 000 01x -- 4 6 2
 
Martinez, Robles-Rivas (8) and Lipman; Edgington and Keller. W--Edgington 6-3. L--Martinez.
 
2B--V: Grattan, Gallardo, Gwynn. HR--SB: Keller (7), 8th inn., none on.
 
Records--VC 14-17, 6-10. SBCC 19-13, 9-7.


Saturday, April 24 -- SBCC at Hancock, 1 p.m.  Hancock 7, SBCC 6  Records: 19-14, 9-8

  Hancock rallies for 7-6 win
Vaqueros set record for homers on Elias' first

 Ignacio Elias had a big day in his first start in right field on Saturday but SBCC couldn't hold a one-run lead in the ninth and Hancock rallied for a 7-6 WSC North baseball victory in Santa Maria.
 
Elias went 3-4 and belted his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth, to put the visitors ahead 3-2. It was the 50th homer of the season for the Vaqueros, breaking the 2007 school record which was set in 11 more games.
 
Tommy White went 2-4 and tied the game at 5 with a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh. Elias singled in the ninth and scored the go-ahead run on an RBI double by Abe Ruiz.
 
"We thought Abe's ball was going out but it hit the top of the fence in right field," noted coach Teddy Warrecker.
 
Both of the Bulldogs' runs were unearned in the bottom of the ninth after the Vaqueros (19-14, 9-8) dropped a pop foul and threw the ball away on a drag bunt. The latter play tied the game at 6 and after an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, outfielder Danny Cavaletto was brought in as a fifth infielder.
 
Peter Straka hit a hard grounder to first and Conner Rehage made a diving stop but his throw to the plate was just late.
 
Hancock (21-11, 13-4) outhit the Vaqueros 14-11 and moved into a first-place tie with Oxnard in the WSC North.
 
"This was a tough loss," said Warrecker. "We didn't make the plays when we had to. We can still make the playoffs, we just have to finish third in conference. We play in the best conference in Southern California and the third-place team has gone to the playoffs the last five years."
 
SBCC is in third place in the WSC North at 9-8, two games ahead of Cuesta and Ventura (7-10) with three to play.

Box Score

SBCC ........... 000 300 201 -- 6 11 4
Hancock ...... 110 111 002 -- 7 14 0

 McGrew, Gunderson (5) and Keller; Berryman, Turbes (6), Valenzuela (8) and Young. W--Valenzuela 3-2. L--Gunderson 1-4.
 2B--SB: Rehage, Ruiz. HR--SB: Elias (1), 4th inn., one on; White (6), 7th inn., one on.
 Records--SBCC 19-14, 9-8. Hancock 21-11, 13-4.


Tuesday, April 27 -- Hancock at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.   SBCC 19, Hancock 6  Records: 20-14, 10-8 WSC North (clinches 3rd place)

Rehage, Vaqueros slam Hancock 19-6
  
He goes 4-4 with grand slam and eight RBIs

 Conner Rehage had a perfect day on Tuesday at Pershing Park, going 4-for-4 with a grand slam, a double and eight RBIs in SBCC's 19-6 baseball blowout of Hancock.
 
"I've been in a little slump and coach helped me with staying fundamentally sound," said Rehage, a sophomore first baseman from Dos Pueblos High. "I was seeing the ball pretty good today. We knew we had to win and I was just doing what I could."
 
The Vaqueros (20-14, 10-8) have a two-game lead over Cuesta in the race for third place (and a probable playoff berth) with two to play. Both those games are against Cuesta -- Thursday in San Luis Obispo and Friday at home at 2:30 p.m.
 
Oxnard beat Ventura 13-4 to snap a first-place tie with Hancock (21-12, 13-5). Oxnard and Hancock will square off for the title in the last two games.
 
SBCC sent 26 batters to the plate in the first three innings and enjoyed a 13-1 lead following a six-run third inning. The Vaqueros loaded the bases in the first and scored two runs on bases-loaded walks.
 
In the second, Danny Cavaletto singled, Abe Ruiz doubled, Tommy White walked and Steven Keller reached on a fielder's choice to set the stage for Rehage. The 6-5, 240-pound ex-quarterback drilled an opposite-field shot for his team's first grand slam of the year. An inning later, he delivered a two-run single to right.
 
"Both times, Teddy told me to look for a pitch low and away and both times he was right, so I just took it to right field," said Rehage, who leads the WSC with 12 homers and ranks second in the state. He also boosted his team-high RBI total to 40.
 
Daniel Howell, who had three hits and three RBIs, followed Rehage's two-run double with a towering two-run homer over the 364-foot sign in right-center. Keller went 2-3 with two doubles and five runs scored for the Vaqueros, who improved to 17-2 when scoring at least seven.
 
"We got a win when we absolutely had to have it," said Warrecker. "We beat a team that's fighting for the conference championship in convincing fashion. Conner Rehage had a career day in one of our biggest games of the year."
 
Rehage, who had a two-run single in the sixth as did Ignacio Elias, missed the school record for RBIs by two. In 2007, David Harris had two grand slams and drove in 10 runs in a game.
 
Greg Selarz improved to 5-1 by holding the Bulldogs to six runs (just one earned) on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Ryan Gardner came on with a runner on second and one out in the sixth and following a walk, he got Peter Straka to hit into an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play.
 
"Greg has been pretty solid all year," Warrecker noted. "Unfortunately we didn't play catch very well behind him. That's something that's plagued us all year. Fortunately, the 19 runs and 20 hits were more than enough to overcome that. We got all over their starter, which was big, and got deep into their bullpen."
 
It was the seventh home win in eight games for the Vaqueros, who are 14-4 at Pershing this year and have won 21 of their last 25 home games, dating back to last season.

Box Score

Hancock ...... 010 032 000 --  6   8 0
SBCC ...........346 015 00x -- 19 20 4
 
Creath, Halop (2), Sechler (4), Turbes (6), Paz (7) and Young, Davis (4); Selarz, Gardner (6), Turnbull (8), Vasquez (9) and Keller, Trevino (8). W--Selarz 5-1. L--Creath 6-3.
 
2B--H: Rivera. SB: Keller 2, Ruiz, Lauritzen, Rehage, Elias. HR--SB: Rehage (12), 2nd inn., three on; Howell (10), 3rd inn., one on.
 
Records--Hancock 21-12, 13-5. SBCC 20-14, 10-8.


Thursday, April 29 -- SBCC at Cuesta, 2:30 p.m.  Cuesta 12, SBCC 6  Records: 20-15, 10-9 WSC North

 Cuesta rallies past Vaqueros 12-6
SBCC must win Friday's final game to secure third

 SBCC took a 4-0 lead in Thursday's WSC North baseball game at Cuesta before the Cougars stormed back with 12 runs in their final four at-bats on the way to a 12-6 victory in San Luis Obispo.
 
Conner Rehage homered for the second straight game but it wasn't enough to prevent the sixth loss in nine games for the Vaqueros (20-15, 10-9). They thought they had clinched third place and a probable Southern Cal playoff berth prior to Thursday's game but that turned out to be false.
 
It all comes down to Friday's regular-season finale at 2:30 p.m. at Pershing Park. If SBCC wins, it will finish third. If Cuesta (17-16, 9-10) wins, it will tie the Vaqueros for third with each team beating the other twice. The Cougars own the tiebreaker advantage, thanks to a 1-3 record against first-place Oxnard. SBCC was 0-4.
 
Oxnard clinched the WSC North title on Thursday with an 8-6 win over Hancock.
 
Rehage went 3-4 with a two-run homer in the second inning. He boosted his WSC-leading total to 13 homers, just two shy of Delwyn Young's school record of 15. Sam Johnston was 2-2 with an RBI and two runs.
 
Zach Edgington had flu-like symptoms on Wednesday and wasn't at full-strength for his start. The left-hander went 4 1/3 innings, striking out four in his first start since a school-record 21 K performance. He gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits.
 
"They hit some balls where we weren't and one of their doubles was lost in the sun," said Santa Barbara coach Teddy Warrecker. "We didn't do a good job defensively."
 
The Vaqueros are 14-4 at home this year and have won 21 of their last 25 at Pershing.

Box Score

SBCC ......... 022 002 000 --   6 13 4
Cuesta ....... 000 033 51x -- 12 14 1
 
Edgington, Gardner (5), Gunderson (6), Turnbull (7), Alvarez (7) and Keller; Brehm, Tiedemann (3) and Prophet. W--Tiedemann. L--Gardner 2-3.
 
2B--SB: Keller. C: Filicia, Anderson. HR--SB: Rehage (13), 2nd inn., one on.
 
Records--SBCC 20-15, 10-9. Cuesta 18-17, 9-10.


Friday, April 30 -- Cuesta at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.   Cuesta 13, SBCC 11 (10 innings)  Records: 20-16, 10-10 (3rd in WSC North)

   Vaqueros fall after huge rally
Ruiz' HR ties it in 9th but errors prove costly in 13-11 loss

 SBCC stormed back from an 11-4 deficit with four runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth on Friday but a trio of defensive miscues spoiled the party in the regular-season baseball finale at Pershing Park. Cuesta scored twice in the 10th and went on to post a 13-11 victory in a 10-inning marathon that lasted nearly four hours.
 
It was the second win over the Vaqueros in as many days for the Cougars (19-17, 10-10), who finished in a third-place tie with SBCC (20-16, 10-10) in the WSC North. The teams split their season series 2-2 but Cuesta has the tiebreaker advantage due to a better record against conference champion Oxnard.
 
The Cougars probably earned a playoff berth with the win while the Vaqueros dropped their seventh game in the last 10 outings.
 
Cuesta snapped a 4-4 tie by scoring seven times in the eighth to take an 11-4 lead. SBCC responded with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, capped by Daniel Howell's two-run double.
 
After Sam Johnston and Danny Cavaletto singled in the ninth, Abe Ruiz hit a towering three-run homer to right-center to tie the game at 11. It was the 11th homer of the year for Ruiz, a transfer from Arizona State, who went 3-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
 
"Coming back from seven runs down (in the last two innings), that's as big a swing as I can remember in 10 years here," said coach Teddy Warrecker. "Abe's been doing this for the last month with a torn labrum and a torn rotator cuff. He's been incredibly couragous and will leave a great mark on this program."
 
Left-hander Joe McGrew pitched into the eighth for the Vaqueros, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits. He was replaced by Greg Selarz, normally a starter, after McGrew hit the first batter in the eighth. With the bases loaded, Selarz forced in two runs on hit batters, then Ty Muller had a two-run single off D.J. Gunderson.
 
Danny Cavaletto homered in the first for the Vaqueros, who lead the state in homers with a school-record 55.
 
Santa Barbara committed six errors, leading to six unearned runs.
 
"That's been our Achilles all season long," said Warrecker. "It's a shame to waste a good performance by Joe. He gave us seven-plus innings and kept us in the game.
 
"After we got the three-run homer to tie it, we misplayed a ball and it was a common theme all year long. We weren't able to overcome what we do on the defensive side even with championship-level offense and at times, great pitching. Our giveaways were just too much."
 
Cavaletto and Steven Keller had three hits each on a day when the Vaqueros rapped out 16. Howell, Conner Rehage and Tommy White, the WSC's top hitter at .435, all had two hits apiece.
 
Warrecker said there's a small chance the Vaqueros could receive one of the 18 playoff spots in the Southern Cal Regional but if that happened, it would be the first time that four WSC North teams made the postseason. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.

Box Score

  (10 innings)
Cuesta ....... 012 001 070 2 -- 13 11 4
SBCC ......... 102 010 043 0 -- 11 17 6
 
Kaneakua, Gerber (5), Reed (8), Levin (10) and Prophet; McGrew, Selarz (8), Gunderson (8), Gardner (9) and Keller. W--Reed. L--Gardner 2-4.
 
2B--C: Anderson, Cunningham 2. SB: Ruiz, Howell. HR--C: Prophet, 6th inn., none on. SB: Cavaletto (2), 1st inn., none on; Ruiz (11), 9th inn., two on.
 
Records--Cuesta 19-17, 10-10. SBCC 20-16, 10-10.

Final WSC North Standings
 
1, Oxnard 16-4. 2, Hancock 13-7. 3 (tie), Cuesta 10-10, SBCC 10-10. 5, Ventura 9-11. 6, Moorpark 2-18.


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