Huntington Beach, Calif. - The Rustlers earned their second sweep of the season after defeating Barstow Community College 10-4 at home on Tuesday and 17-3 at Barstow on Thursday.
Golden West bats came alive throughout this series, but errors on the defensive front remained a problem for the squad.
Both games started with Jason Blood getting the nod for Tuesday and Brett Wozniak on the bump Thursday.
Game One
Blood put up two no-hit innings, striking out five of the six Viking batters he faced. As planned, he left the game after two innings leaving the rest of the game in the hands of the bullpen.
Reliever Connor Freire made his first appearance on the mound since having Tommy John surgery in Oct. 2020. Freire only needed to face three batters to end the inning, after Barstow popped up to third base, struck out swinging, and grounded out to shortstop.
The Rustlers that followed were Robert Bolton (1 IP / 0H / 0 R/0 ER / 0 BB / 0 K), Conor Burdian (0.1 IP / 1 H / 3 R/3 ER / 2 BB / 1 K) , Jayden Baerg (1.2 IP / 2 H / 1 R/0 ER / 0 BB / 1 K), James Englehart (1 IP / 0 H / 0 R/0 ER / 2 BB / 0 K), and Thomas Howard (2 IP / 1 H/ 0 R/0ER / 0 BB / 2 K).
A solid performance for the pitching staff was also matched with a successful hitting day for the Rustlers who hit 12 base hits. Center fielder Jonah Sebring was 3-for-3, reaching base on singles. Second baseman Steven Casas was 3-for-5, driving in two runners off two base hits. Pinch hitter Zech Samayoa brought in another run with a single, later scoring himself off a wild pitch. Right fielder Sergio Alfaro went 2-for-5 with two singles and a RBI. Designated hitter Gunnar Magrann and catcher Noah Estrem both were responsible for bringing in a runner each. An eighth inning single hit by third baseman Matthew Olivares put the last two runs on the board.
Game Two
Through three innings of work, Wozniak allowed two hits, one run, walked one batter, and struck out five. Luke Higgins relieved Wozniak, silenced Barstow by striking out the side. Fino Amador took over in the fourth inning, where two runs scored in response to two fielding errors.
The bullpen held the Vikings to three runs for the rest of the game following performances from Dante Jackson (1 IP / 2 K), Marco Ibarra (1 IP / 2 K), Braden Genera (1 IP / 1 H / 1 K), and Andrew Stanley (1 IP / 1 K).
The Rustler offense put up 17 runs off of 18 hits. Sergio Alfaro started off the scoring for the day with a two-run single in the second inning. Three more runs were scored in the inning with a single hit by DJ McEvers and Matt Gaunts, as well as a sac fly hit by Kelso Burke.
First baseman Dylan Kordic recorded a grand slam for his second home run of the season, extending the Rustlers' lead in the fourth after a single hit by Samayoa drove in a runner. Adam Arroyo had a successful day in the box with a home run and a two-run double.
Kevin Linares and Brayden Smoot both made appearances in the game, both finding ways to get on base and contribute to this 17-3 win. Smoot recorded three runs for the Rustlers with two singles.
Although this sweep does not count towards their conference record, the offense and pitching performances look promising heading into the final two series of the season.
NEXT: Golden West and Saddleback will kick off a three-game series at Hoover Field starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Written By Marissa Lavezzari
