SBCC shortstop Steven Reveles fields a ground ball during the Vaqueros’ win over Ventura.
Brett Sesma went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Tyler Gilbert kept Ventura in check for 7 innings on Saturday as SBCC downed the Pirates 7-3 to move into sole possession of first in the WSC North baseball race.
Andy Smith hit a solo homer to left to tie it at 1-1 in the third and Steven Reveles and Tony Simon added two hits apiece for SBCC, which won its third straight to improve to 15-12 and 7-4. Ventura fell to 13-13 and 6-5.
?Tyler was pitching really well,? said Smith. ?I got a good pitch to drive and made the most of it. It feels great to be in first place alone.?
Simon, who?s batting .314, extended his hit streak to 22 games.
Gilbert (7-1) gave up just three runs (two earned) on seven hits in seven innings. He got 13 of his 21 outs on fly balls. Gilbert?s ERA is 1.82 and opponents are batting just .180 against the freshman left-hander.
Stephen Foote gave up one hit in the final two innings to notch his WSC-leading fourth save.
The Vaqueros got a measure of revenge on Ventura pitcher Eric Hernandez, who tossed a complete-game 2-1 win against them in the WSC opener on March 5. In six innings, Hernandez gave up four runs on eight hits with a walk and three hit batters.
After Smith?s homer, Reveles tripled and Sesma brought him in with a double in the third. Simon gave the Vaqueros a 3-1 lead by driving in Zach Zehner with a two-out infield single.
?Andy Smith got us started with his homer and kind of showed us the way,? said coach Jeff Walker. ?It?s always nice to play with a lead.?
Sesma made a perfect bunt down the third-base line with two outs in the fourth, scoring Jared Dinges and boosting the margin to 4-1.
Ventura pulled within one at 4-3 in the seventh on an error, an RBI triple by Wesley Solomon and a run-scoring double by Harrison Crawford.
The Vaqueros responded with two in the seventh without the benefit of a hit. They loaded the bases off the Ventura bullpen on three walks. With two outs, Sesma scored on an infield error and Dinges got an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Vaqueros travel to Ventura on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
