SANTA BARBARA – The SBCC baseball team won its ninth straight game to open the season on Friday, defeating Chaffey 4-3 at Pershing Park. In another one-run game the following day, the Vaqueros were handed their first loss of the year 5-4.
Santa Barbara's 9-1 start is its best since opening the 2014 season 10-0.
SBCC 4, Chaffey 3
The Vaqueros maintained their perfect start to the year with a dramatic late-game comeback on Friday. Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, freshman Daniel Ghiorso walked it off with a three-run bomb down the left field line. It was his team-leading third home run of the season.
SBCC had taken the game's initial lead in the bottom of the third. Second baseman Daniel Hirose doubled and first baseman Presley Kosciusko later hit a single to bring in the first run of the day. The Panthers (5-7) scored twice in the fifth and took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth.
In the ninth, the Vaqueros got out to a great start with a single through the left side by centerfielder Carson Cahoy followed by a walk for shortstop Sebastian Arguelles. The tying run moved up to second on a wild pitch, and against one out, Ghiorso stepped up to put away the biggest hit so far this season, sealing SBCC's 9-0 start to the year.
Pitcher Charlie Adamson got the win with a perfect final 1.2 innings, striking out three batters.
Chaffey 5, SBCC 4
SBCC outhit Chaffey 7-6 in Saturday's game, led by sophomore left fielder Matty Fung with two. The Vaqueros again took the opening lead, but this time it was the Panthers scoring the winning run in the ninth inning.
Hirose began the game with a single to left center and right fielder Patrick Walsh tallied an RBI with a single to bring Hirose home. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Vaqueros tied it when Fung scored on a wild pitch.
Chaffey regained the lead with two runs in the seventh. SBCC responded with two runs of its own in the eighth. With the bases loaded, Cahoy scored on a walk by Hirose. Fung hit a sac fly to right on the following at bat to score a run by pinch runner Zach Torres.
Unfortunately for the Vaqueros, Chaffey got a solo home run on its first at bat of the ninth. In the bottom of the inning, Walsh eventually found himself in position for the tying run following a Cahoy walk, but SBCC fell just short.
NEXT UP
The Vaqueros close a four-game home stand against Cuesta on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.
