Baseball Sweeps Hancock, Advances to Regional Finals
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Baseball team completed a Super Regional sweep at Western State Conference (WSC) North foe Allan Hancock on Friday to advance to the SoCal Regional Finals.
In game one of the best-of-three series, the Vaqueros erased a 5-0 deficit and escaped a bases-loaded jam with the winning run on third in the bottom of the ninth to prevail 10-9 in 10 innings. Game two was more straightforward as two-way star Wylan Nelson pitched an eight-inning quality start, striking out 10 in an 8-3 victory.
The result is even sweeter than it normally would be. Hancock ended Santa Barbara's streak of three consecutive WSC North titles by winning at Pershing Park on the penultimate day of the regular season. The Vaqueros got immediate redemption, ending Hancock's season on their home field just two weeks later.
Thursday, game one: Santa Barbara 10, Hancock 9 (10 inn.)
Things could hardly have gone worse for the Vaqueros to start the series. In the bottom of the first inning of game one, Hancock's first three batters singled, reached on an error, and homered to take a 3-0 lead. Then, a two-out, two-run double made it 5-0 after just two innings.
Adam Tripp came on in relief and pitched a scoreless third. Lucas Carlisle came around to score on a wild pitch after leading off the fourth with a single to make it 5-1 Hancock. Both teams then went scoreless until the top of the sixth.
With the bases loaded and one out, Sean Asperger hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. Parker Hellekson followed with a clutch two-out double, but only one run could score. With runners on second and third, Elijah Garcia continued the rally, singling up the middle to tie the game 5-5.
However, there would still be more of a mountain to climb. Hancock's two-out, two-run single in the bottom half immediately handed the Vaqueros a 7-5 deficit.
Immediately, they responded, though. More two-out hits—this time from Bradley Cekada (game-tying two-run double) and Asperger (go-ahead single)—in the top of the seventh gave Santa Barbara their first lead at 8-7.
But, once again, two more runs from Hancock restored their lead. To start the eighth, three straight baserunners, capped by Wylan Nelson's RBI single, made it 9-9. As the dust settled, the teams combined for 12 runs in two and a half innings.
Cedar Cline ended the streak with a scoreless bottom of the eighth, keeping the score tied. After the Vaqueros went scoreless in the top of the ninth, Cline got into trouble. Two hit-by-pitches and a walk put the winning run 90 feet away with one out and no room for error. Drew Cappel entered the game and induced the most important outs of the season—a 6-4-3 double play to send the game to extras.
In the tenth, with one out and nobody on, Carlisle reached on a two-base error by the shortstop. It proved crucial as Cole Ide's ensuing single through the four-hole gave the Vaqueros an almighty 10-9 lead.
For all the drama, Max Collins came on and pitched possibly the calmest inning of the game. All but the first of his 10 pitches were strikes; he earned two groundouts before solidifying the save—and the win—with a strikeout.
Ide went 3-for-5 with a walk and Cekada went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead the lineup, who had 15 hits on the day. Carlisle scored four runs and had two hits with a walk.
Friday, game two: Santa Barbara 8, Hancock 3
Up 1-0 in the series, the Vaqueros also had the advantage of being the home team for game two, though it was still played at Hancock's John Osborne Field.
Hancock scored a run in the top of the first, but it would be their only lead of the game. The Vaqueros started the bottom half with two quick outs before an error extended the inning. They took advantage of it, following with a single, hit-by-pitch, bases-loaded walk, and Parker Hellekson's two-run double to take an early 3-1 lead.
In the third, Hancock's two-run homer temporarily tied the game. Damos Deworken's sacrifice fly after another error restored the Vaqueros' lead at 4-3. They would never look back.
Nelson went on to retire the next eight batters he faced. He would allow just four hits—all singles—the rest of the game. The offense, including Nelson himself, also helped out.
The Vaqueros scored three in the fourth thanks to Lucas Carlisle's sacrifice fly, Bradley Cekada's RBI single, and a two-out error that would have ended the inning. William Matuszak's RBI single in the fifth made it 8-3, a five-run lead that would be kept.
Nelson struck out the side in his eighth and final inning. Drew Cappel—the fireman of game one—inherited a less stressful situation this time, earning final three outs to send the Vaqueros to the Regional Finals.
The Vaqueros are one of eight teams in the state still playing. They travel to SoCal No. 1 seed Palomar for another best-of-three series beginning on Friday, May 15. The winner will advance to the State Championship tournament in Irvine the following weekend.