By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Baseball team beat Cerro Coso on Saturday afternoon, rounding out their pre-conference schedule with a 6-4 record.
Saturday's game at Pershing was a rematch of Thursday's 12-2 win at Cerro Coso, where the Vaqueros built a lead early and steadily added to it, coasting to victory.
After a clean 1st inning for both teams, the Vaqueros looked to mirror the first matchup by putting up a crooked number in the 2nd. Sebastian Arguelles and Presley Kosciusko each singled to lead off the inning, and a few errors by the pitcher on pickoff attempts allowed Arguelles to score. Parker Hellekson and Jordan Harris later added RBI singles, and a Patrick Walsh RBI fielder's choice made it 4-0.
Cerro Coso scored a run via a 2-out error in the top of the 3rd, and a 2-out wild pitch scored another in the 4th. In the 5th, an RBI single and a catcher's interference put the tying and go-ahead runs on base, but Jake Villar struck out the next two batters to end the inning still hanging on to the lead.
The reliable lefty starter ended his day with a line of 5 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 2 earned runs, and 8 strikeouts. He left the game in line for the win.
The Vaqueros offense would help him out by adding another run in the bottom of the 5th via an Arguelles 2-out RBI single up the middle. Scott Radinsky came in in relief, throwing a 1-2-3 6th inning with a strikeout. Heading to the top of the 7th, it was 5-3 SBCC.
From there, the tide turned. Shane McMahon did not allow a hit but walked the bases loaded around an out, and an RBI 3-unassisted made it 5-4. With the tying and go-ahead runs on second and third with 2 outs, Koehn Thomas was brought it for the high-leverage situation. Aidan Johnson doubled off him, giving Cerro Coso a 6-5 lead.
SBCC's deficit was short-lived, though. In the bottom of the 7th, Harris was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on Ethan Rodriguez's single to right, and scored on a wild pitch. Thomas then had a clean 8th inning, and the Vaqueros were poised to take the lead in the bottom of the 8th.
After 2 quick outs, John Payton Boyle hit a grounder to shortstop that looked like it would end the inning. The ball went under his glove, though, and Boyle would reach as the go-ahead run. Wyatt Thornbury pinch ran for him, and it paid off. Lucas Anderson hit a swinging bunt to the third base side, and the pitcher fielded it and threw the ball away. Thornbury scored from first just ahead of the ensuing throw home. Without getting a hit or even hitting the ball out of the infield, the Vaqueros had taken a 7-6 lead.
Halen Jaden Guerrero was given the save opportunity, and it started out perfectly with 2 strikeouts. Like many times earlier in the game, though, the third out wouldn't come easy. Back-to-back singles put the tying run in scoring position. However, on an 0-1 pitch, Guerrero induced a pop up to second that Daniel Ghiorso caught, sealing the Vaqueros 7-6 victory.
Koehn Thomas earned the win with Guerrero, of course, getting the save. Sebastian Arguelles had 3 hits, and Ethan Rodriguez also knocked 2 hits.
Parker Hellekson continues to hit with 2 this game, including a double. The freshman outfielder is slashing a red-hot .478/.520/.609 (1.129 OPS) in 25 plate appearances to start the year.
Daniel Ghiorso, who doubled, is also 1-dotting. He leads the team in hits, doubles, walks (tied), stolen bases, and on-base percentage. The Vaqueros second baseman is slashing .405/.542/.541 (1.083 OPS) so far.
Presley Kosciusko, John Payton Boyle, and Jordan Harris each reach base twice via a single and walk—or hit by pitch, in Harris' case.
After a postponement, the Vaqueros will play 3 games against Cuesta in 3 days this weekend. Conference play begins at Cuesta Thursday, then back at Pershing at 2:00 PM on Friday before heading back to Cuesta Saturday afternoon.
