Dos Pueblos players pile onto each other following the team’s 2-1 win over Santa Barbara.
Gio Macias’ high chopper in the bottom of the seventh inning scored pinch runner Jonathan Sloan from second base after the tricky ground ball forced Santa Barbara into a tough throw that hit the dirt and bounced off the first baseman’s glove.
As Sloan crossed the plate, the Dos Pueblos dugout emptied and the team raced onto the field and tackled Macias near second base celebrating a 2-1 Channel League victory over the visiting Dons.
“When I was up there my whole approach was give it to the next person who was up on deck,” Macias said. “We’re not trying to do too much. I just happened to get a single and a run came across and I’m happy about that.”
Santa Barbara High’s Kevin Gowdy allowed one run in five innings in Tuesday’s game.
Dos Pueblos head coach Nick Katzenstein liked Macias’ at-bat.
“It was huge for us,” he said. “They walked Quinn (Peacock) in front of him and left him the opportunity. He’s down in the count and his job is to battle with two strikes and put something in play.”
The victory felt extra sweet for the Chargers having been shut out in their past two games. It had the opposite effect on Santa Barbara.
“It’s just a heartbreak one. You play real hard and go that long and lose with two outs in the last inning of the game,” lamented Dons head coach Fred Warrecker. “The important thing is just to come back the next day and practice the best practice we can have.”
In a game that was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, Dos Pueblos was able to beat the Dons with ace Kevin Gowdy on the mound.
Jesse Speier spanked a double to deep left field to lead off the fifth. Pinch runner Drake Hawn advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Quinn Peacock slapped a hard grounder up the middle that hit off Gowdy’s glove and slowed down enough to allow Peacock to beat a throw to first base. Hawn scored to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
Dos Pueblos starting pitcher Darby Naughton
“That’s the story for us,” Warrecker said. “We got good pitching but we left 13 guys on base and both of their runs were on balls that didn’t leave the infield.”
Santa Barbara had the bases loaded in the first, third and seventh innings but failed to score each time. Santa Barbara outhit Dos Pueblos 7-5 and drew five walks.
Dos Pueblos starting pitcher Darby Naughton pitched five shutout innings before his inherited scored in the sixth inning to tie the game at 1-1. Josh Knight, the Chargers’ third pitcher of the seventh inning, picked up the victory by coming in from the bullpen with the bases loaded and getting the strikeout.
Carter Soto scored for Santa Barbara after leading off the sixth inning with a single and scored on an RBI single from Bryce Morison. Soto was 2 for 3 with a run scored while Morison finished 3 for 4 with an RBI.
Gowdy struck out eight batters in five innings and was removed because he reached his pitch count. Naughton matched him with one earned run allowed and three strikeouts in five official innings. Naughton routinely got out of jams.
“I got lucky. They just missed a lot, flied out or ground ball, and our defense was strong the entire game,” Naughton said. “I didn’t do so well keeping them off base but my defense did a great job making the plays.”
Naughton, a sophomore, and the Chargers were the first team to score on the highly regarded Gowdy, who has trained in the USA Baseball Development program, this season.
“It’s great,” Naughton said. “We’re facing a great pitcher like Gowdy and we started off a little slow offensively but we stayed in the entire game and it paid off at the end, definitely.”
Dos Pueblos’ league record improves to 1-1. It’s DP’s second win on the season in eight tries after the team endured three 1-run losses in the Easton Tournament.
Both teams host Channel League games on Friday. The Dons (1-1) meet Ventura (1-0) while Dos Pueblos (1-1) takes on Buena (1-0).
