Tyler Gilbert and Stephen Foote combined on a two-hitter Saturday afternoon and SBCC beat Cuesta 3-1 to move into first place in the WSC North baseball race.
Colby Taylor went 2-4 and drove in the first run with a single for the Vaqueros (10-9, 4-2), who won their fourth straight to forge a tie with Ventura atop the conference. Cuesta fell to 8-11 and 2-4.
Gilbert, a freshman from Santa Cruz, outdueled Lucas Martin in a battle of two of the top left-handers in the WSC. Gilbert (4-1) went six innings, allowing just one unearned run on one hit with four strikeouts and two walks. Martin gave up three runs (two earned) in 7 2/3 innings.
Foote pitched the final three frames for his second save, surrendering only one hit and striking out three.
Gilbert lowered his ERA to 1.91, fourth-best in the conference.
Taylor and Steven Reveles each stole two bases on a day when the Vaqueros swiped seven. SBCC is No. 1 in the state with 53 steals and Reveles is second with 16.
The Vaqueros went ahead in the sixth when Mark Jebbia singled, stole second and scored on an error. In the seventh, Reveles walked, stole second and third, and tallied an insurance run on Zach Zehner’s two-out single.
The Vaqueros host Oxnard on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
