
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Vaqueros used all the tools they had at their disposal to battle hard in Game 1 of the 3C2A SoCal Regional against Fullerton College, falling 7-4 in 10 innings.
Joseph Talarico gave the Vaqueros a chance, working around early baserunners to throw seven innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out five.
Fullerton jumped ahead with a run in the first and took a 3-0 lead in the fifth following a passed ball and an infield error.
SBCC responded in the sixth as Ben Fabbian drove in Cole Ide with a sharp hit to left field. A passed ball later in the frame cut the deficit to 3-2.
In the eighth, Nicolas Aguirre hit a grounder to shortstop that was overthrown at first, allowing two runs to score and giving Santa Barbara a 4-3 lead.
But Jake Larson delivered a game-tying RBI single in the top of the ninth for the Hornets, who added three more runs in the 10th to take the series opener.
The Vaqueros will look to even the series in Game 2 at noon on Saturday at Pershing Park. If necessary, Game 3 will follow at 3 p.m.