SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Ethan Rodriguez's first-inning grand slam solidified Santa Barbara City College's lead en route to a 17-4 win over Ventura College at Pershing Park on Saturday.
Ben Fabbian had an RBI double and Brendon Cekada drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Vaqueros a 2-1 lead before Rodriguez came to the plate. After the blast, Will Matuszak reached on an error that allowed Nicolas Aguirre to score, extending the lead to 7-1 in the first.
Aidan Camberg launched a solo home run in the second inning, his third of the year.
In the eighth inning, Rodriguez hit a three-RBI double. He finished the game 3-for-5 with seven RBIs.
The Vaqueros stole 10 bases in the victory. Matuszak swiped four bags and Benjamin Strutt stole two, while Cekada, Fabbian, Aguirre and Sean Asperger each stole one.
Starting pitcher Koehn Thomas improved to 4-1 on the year, allowing one earned run in five and one-third innings while striking out four.
With the win, the Vaqueros claim the season series against the Pirates 2-1.
Santa Barbara (17-9) is now 9-3 in conference play and returns to Pershing Park at 2 p.m. to host Allan Hancock College.
