Jake Holton drove in both runs and pitched the ninth for his eighth save on Saturday as SBCC held off Hancock 2-1 in a WSC North baseball game in Santa Maria.
The Vaqueros (15-16, 6-5) are tied for first in the wild and wacky conference race. SBCC, Moorpark and Ventura lead the way at 6-5 with Hancock (17-15, 6-6) and Cuesta (6-6) a half-game back.
2018 Community College Baseball Standings
Holton, a sophomore from Los Gatos, started at first base and went 1-3 with two RBIs. He belted his fifth homer – a solo shot in the fourth – and delivered a one-out, bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth to score Patrick Caulfield with an unearned run that made it 2-1.
Holton got two outs in the ninth, then walked two batters before getting Dylan Maiden to ground out to third. Holton tied the school record (Vinnie Agapito, 2007) with his eighth save and he's second in the state. He's fourth in the WSC North with a .370 batting average and second in homers (5) and RBIs (30).
Nic Cardinal (7.1 innings) and Ismael Hernandez held the Vaqueros to six hits. Four SBCC hurlers – William Blackburn (0 runs, 1 hit in 5 innings), Steven Elliott, Yeager George (no-hit ball for 2.1 innings) and Holton – combined on a three-hitter.
Hancock tied the game 1-1 on Jake Shusterich's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.
The Vaqueros played four games in five days ending on Saturday and they'll do the same thing next week.
Santa Barbara will host Cuesta on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., then play three games in three days on April 12-14. The Vaqueros will play at Cuesta on Thursday, at Ventura on Friday and home vs. Oxnard on Saturday.
