Glendale sweeps SBCC out of Regional

Glendale got two strong pitching performances and its offense came alive on Saturday in a pair of baseball wins that ended SBCC's season. Glendale won 16-2 to even the best-of-3 Southern Cal Regional series 1-1, then pulled out a 4-3 triumph in a tense rubber game.

The fourth-seeded Glendale Vaqueros improved to 27-15 while the No. 13 SBCC Vaqueros finish with a 24-15 mark.

Saturday's first game was close with Glendale leading 4-2 after four frames. Glendale was the designated visitor and batted first in Game 2. Michael Choi extended the margin to 6-2 on a two-run homer in the fifth.

Glendale scored nine runs in the last two innings, including six in the ninth.

Kevin Holcomb (6-0), a 6-5 sophomore right-hander, held the Vaqueros to two runs on seven hits in 8.1 innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Ian Churchill started for Santa Barbara and he was touched up for six runs on 10 hits in five innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

Glendale collected 18 hits in the opener, including three doubles and three home runs. GCC leads the state in homers (58), batting average (.329) and slugging percentage (.516) and they're second in runs with 406 (9.4 average).

Third baseman Hans Seo had a big day, going 3-3 with three RBIs, a solo homer and five runs in the first game and 2-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs in the nightcap. Brandon Lewis was 2-5 with five RBIs, including a three-run homer in the ninth.

Nicholas Prainito went 2-4 in the first game for Santa Barbara and 2-3 in the second. The visiting Vaqueros had six hits in Game 3 while Glendale had just four.

Conner Roberts pitched the first six innings for SBCC, giving up four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Dexter Wilkerson threw the last seven innings for Glendale, holding SBCC to one run on four hits with 11 strikeouts and three walks.

Santa Barbara tied the game 2-2 in the second when Jacob Bravo tripled in Prainito and scored on a squeeze bunt by Boston Hubbard. Glendale got two in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Seo.

SBCC cut it to 4-3 in the fifth. Hubbard walked, went to third on a double by Tommy Holguin and scored on Benjamin Martz's sacrifice fly to center.

Santa Barbara left eight runners on in Game 3 and was only 1-11 with runners in scoring position.