Aaron Bauman continued his torrid hitting and Greg Pellici saved his fourth straight game Thursday night as SBCC beat Compton 5-3 for its sixth straight baseball win.
The Vaqueros (8-1) belted three homers in a rare night game, including a two-run shot by Bauman in the first inning. Corey Krupp added a solo round-tripper in the second as the visitors took a 4-0 lead. Third baseman Andrew Leighty collected his first collegiate homer in the seventh, boosting the lead to 5-1.
Bauman went 2-4 and is batting .500 over his last five games (10-20).
Blake McFarland, a 6-6 sophomore from San Jose, improved to 2-0 with a sparkling effort. He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and no walks. SBCC’s three pitchers didn’t walk a single batter while beating Compton for the second time this year.
“We got an outstanding effort from Blake and a great play by our closer, Greg Pellici, in the ninth,” said coach Teddy Warrecker. “With no outs, the batter hit a hard shot up the middle and Greg made a kick save, getting his heel on the ball and stopping it behind the mound. (Shortstop) Sean Costella grabbed it on the dead run and threw out the runner.”
Pellici got the next two batters on a groundout and flyout to center. “That’s impressive — four straight saves,” said Warracker. “That’s almost impossible to do on this level.”
The Vaqueros will play an 11 a.m. doubleheader at home on Saturday against Antelope Valley.
SBCC 5, COMPTON 3
SBCC ……………. 220 000 100 — 5 6 1
Compton ………. 000 001 110 — 3 7 1
McFarland, Peterson (8), Pellici (9) and Keller; Worley, Lopez (3), Reyes (8) and Murakami. W–McFarland (2-0). L–Worley. Save–Pellici (4).
2B–C: Lopez, Gonzaga. HR–SB: Bauman (2), 1st inn., one on; Krupp (1), 2nd inn., none on; Leighty (1), 7th inn., none on.
Records–SBCC 8-1, Compton 4-4.
