Vaqueros score four in 7th to rally past Moorpark 8-5

Jake Keily fanned six of the nine batters he faced in two shutout innings. Keily has struck out 22 in 15 innings and hasn't allowed an earned run this year. (Photo by Frederic Larson)
Jake Keily fanned six of the nine batters he faced in two shutout innings. Keily has struck out 22 in 15 innings and hasn't allowed an earned run this year. (Photo by Frederic Larson)

SBCC rallied for four runs in the seventh on Saturday afternoon and the bullpen was rock solid in an 8-5 WSC North baseball win at Moorpark.

The No. 5 Vaqueros swept the four-game series with the Raiders (12-11, 5-9). SBCC won for the fifth straight time to boost its records to 17-5 overall and 10-4 in conference. The Vaqueros remained one game behind No. 4 Oxnard in the race for the WSC title.

Cameron Jones belted his first homer of the year in the third, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage. The lead grew to 4-1 in the fourth on Spencer Erdman's RBI double and a bases-loaded walk by Brandon Evans. Evans walked five times in the contest.

Four Moorpark pitchers issued 12 walks and hit a batter compared to just two walks by the Vaqueros.

Jake Gagain went 2-5 with two RBIs and two runs while Noeh Martinez was 2-3.

Moorpark took a 5-4 lead in the fifth on a two-run double by Garrett Keuber and an RBI single from starting pitcher Thomas Leuvano. The Vaqueros put up a 4-spot in the seventh on Payton Milone's fielder's choice RBI, a two-run double by Gagain and an RBI double by Martinez.

SBCC's No. 1 starter Justin Bruce had an off-day, giving up five runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. The bullpen was sharp, however, blanking the Raiders the rest of the way on just five hits. Steven Ledesma (2-0) threw 1 2/3 innings to get the win, Jake Keily struck out six of the nine batters he faced and Kit Larson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.

"It was a back-and-forth game and it was nice to see us come back for the win," said coach Jeff Walker.

The Vaqueros have a big two-game series with Oxnard, traveling to the Condors' Nest on Tuesday and hosting Oxnard on Thursday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m.