SBCC found itself in a familiar spot on Thursday at Pershing Park when it fell behind 6-0 after three innings of its WSC North baseball game with Hancock. The Vaquero offense continued to struggle with only five hits and the first-place Bulldogs went on to post an 8-1 victory.
Five Vaquero hurlers recorded 12 strikeouts but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fifth straight loss. SBCC (12-11, 1-6) has dropped 10 of 12 after starting the season 10-1. The lone run came in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kai Beam.
“We’re going through a rough stretch,” said left fielder Aaron Bauman, who robbed Dave Anderson of a homer in the ninth with a diving grab over the temporary fence. “The balls just aren’t falling for us like they did in our 10-1 start.
“Our pitching is doing what they should do — putting it in the zone, not walking a lot of people. It’s tough right now. We’re doing everything we can and we’re doing a great job of keeping our confidence up. We know exactly what we’re capable of and it’s never over for us.”
Starter Jeremy Peterson lasted 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits with four strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters. The Bulldogs (12-9, 5-2) sent 16 batters to the plate in the second and third innings, scoring three runs in each frame.
Five SBCC hurlers gave Hancock nine extra baserunners on six walks and three hit batters.
Ryan Gardner, the third Vaquero pitcher, came on with a runner on first and one out in the fifth. He walked two to load the bases before getting a strikeout and groundout. Gardner faced nine batters, allowing just one hit with four strikeouts.
SBCC has only scored three runs in its last two games.
“One run and five hits? That’s an impossible win situation,” said coach Teddy Warrecker. “We put Kai Beam (shortstop) and Jacob Trimble (third base) in to shore us up defensively and they did exactly that. The next change we’ve got to make is in our starting rotation. Outside of Blake McFarland, we’re not getting quality starts.
“We fell behind 6-0 and this team hasn’t shown the ability to outscore or outhit somebody. We’re not going to get negative with our kids or our season. There’s still a long way to go.”
The Vaqueros get a rematch with Hancock on Saturday in Santa Maria at 1 p.m.
Ventura ………… 033 002 000 — 8 13 2
SBCC …………… 000 010 000 — 1 5 3
Calhoun, Enriquez (9) and Dotzler; Peterson, Edgington (3), Pellici (6), Gardner (8), Coonen (9) and Gregory, Howard (6). W–Calhoun. L–Peterson.
2B–H: Planich. SB: Ceverha.
Records–H 12-9, 5-2. SB 12-11, 1-6.
