Carpinteria scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull off a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over CIF-ranked Fillmore in a key Frontier League baseball game on Wednesday.
Javier Jasso drove in Jonah Spach with the tying run and, following an intentional walk to Duncan Gordon, Kevin Stein hit a two-strike pitch between short and third to score Jasso for the game winner.
The win boosts Carpinteria to 5-2 in league while Fillmore, ranked 8th in Division 6, falls to 4-3.
“Obviously, an exciting win that each of the players deserve to enjoy,” Carpinteria coach Pat Cooney said. “They showed a great deal of poise throughout. If a pitcher struggled with control or gave up a hit, the defense responded and the pitchers responded to adversity. In each case, they were able to limit the damage.”
Carpinteria freshmen pitchers David Martinez and Salvador Delgado and junior Nick Walker were clutch in the big win.
“The Warrior pitchers created the opportunity for the comeback win,” said Cooney.
Martinez surrendered just one unearned run over the first three innings followed by Delgado who matched the effort over the next three. Walker pitched a scoreless seventh, while striking out two and became the pitcher of record, picking up the win.
With the score tied at 1-1, Fillmore (11-6) pushed a run across in the sixth in support of ace Tyler Esquivel.
Carpinteria (10-9) threatened in the bottom of the sixth, putting runners at third at second with two outs. But the Warriors were turned away.
In the seventh, Spach, the No. 9 hitter, got a two-strike hit to ignite the rally. Spach moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mo Sanchez and was knocked in by Jasso. After the intentional walk to Gordon, Stein delivered the walk-off hit.
Cooney said the Warrior batters were tough against Fillmore’s Esquivel.
“On offense, the batters in the lineup continued to grind out at-bats and chip away at a very good pitcher,” he said. “Eight players in the lineup had hits and Connor Kelsey was the only one that collected two. Add a little luck to the little things, and the Warriors come away with a good team win.”
