There was a familiar feel to SBCC’s 4-0 baseball win over Ventura on Saturday at Pershing Park.
Kylin Turnbull tossed his second straight complete-game shutout and struck out 13 for the second consecutive time. The score was the same as his March 1 victory over El Camino when he allowed three hits and fanned 13.
On Saturday, he held Ventura to four hits and just one over the final seven innings. Turnbull (2-1) retired the last 11 in order and 16 of the last 17 while lowering his ERA to 1.17 in 46 innings.
SBCC (8-9, 2-1 WSC North) scored all its runs in the first two innings on an RBI single by Daniel Howell, a sacrifice fly by Joey Epperson and a two-run double in the second by Colt McLaughlin.
It was the second straight win and fourth in five games for the Vaqueros.
“Kylin threw the ball well,” said first-year coach Ryan Thompson. “He was downhill all day. He got in a little trouble in the early innings, then he settled down.
“We played sound defense behind him and he did it a lot of it on his own.”
Ventura got two runners on in each of the first three innings but Turnbull snuffed out each threat. The Pirates (4-11, 0-3) had runners on second and third with two outs in the third before Turnbull struck out Jared Zahorik on a 2-2 fastball.
Turnbull, a 6-4 sophomore left-hander, finished the game in two hours and five minutes. SBCC has two shutouts this year, both by Turnbull. Just two days earlier, teammate Chris Joyce struck out 16 in eight innings of a 5-1 win over Moorpark.
Turnbull fanned seven in the first four innings and had at least one strikeout in every inning.
Howell, the son of former Major Leaguer Roy Howell, singled in his first two at-bats and hit a screaming liner that was caught in right field.
“I was seeing the ball well,” said Howell, who bats in the No. 4 spot. “I was trying to stay back, keep my hands through the zone and trying to barrel it up.
“Our pitchers are doing an outstanding job, you can’t ask any more of them. They’re throwing strikes and hitting their spots.”
The Vaqueros travel to Ventura on Tuesday and Hancock on Thursday.
Ventura ……. 000 000 000 — 0 4 1
SBCC ………. 220 000 00x — 4 7 1
Bristow, Yingling (6), Duffy (8) and Boys; Turnbull and White. W–Turnbull 2-1. L–Bristow.
2B–V: Gwynn. SB: McLaughlin.
