Baseball:
Ventura County sure picked a good time to get hot.
After being out of the playoff race and losing 10 consecutive games, the Bucs closed out the regular season 7-0-2 and they earned the No. 4 spot after Thursday’s 6-4 victory over the Arroyo Seco Royals.
The top four programs in the six-team Baseball Census Collegiate Summer League qualified for the playoffs (Arroyo Seco Sentinels, California Outlaws, San Gabriel Valley Monarchs & Ventura County Bucs).
The Royals scored twice in the top of the eighth inning, but the Bucs answered with two in the bottom half of the eighth.
Five VCB pitchers (John Trainor, Nomar Vazquez, Carter Bennett, Anthony Cuevas and Hunter Boylan) teamed up on the mound, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits.
They got away with walking nine Royals’ batters, while striking out five.
Anthony Cuevas was credited with the win after going one scoreless and hitless (eighth) inning, and Hunter Boylan earned the save with a scoreless ninth.
Patrick Fregoso drew a pair of walks, singled and scored.
Nate Slaman doubled and scored.
Noah Alvarez went 2-for-4.
JL Goldman walked, singled and scored a pair of runs.
Alejandro Decreux drew a pair of walks and singled.
Aden Laureano walked and drove in a run on a sac fly.
Anthony Sereno walked twice and had an RBI.
John Pfeffer was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits over one inning.
Pfeffer didn’t issue a walk and struck out three.
The Bucs out-hit the Royals, 10-6, including a 7-1 advantage in extra-base hits.
Jarrett Segura had a pair of doubled and an RBI.
Carter Bennett singled and drove in a pair of runs, including one on a sac fly.
Hudson Story went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and one RBI.
John Trainor walked, doubled and scored.
Anthony Cuevas walked, doubled, scored twice and drove in one run.
Skylar Chang doubled and scored.
Hunter Boylan went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Nomar Vazquez doubled in Thursday’s win.
Quotable:
VCB manager, Bobby Livingston: “Whether it is positive or negative, you can’t dwell on what you have done, because it is already done. Question they needed to answer during the 10-game struggle was: what are you going to do about it? This might seem like a team sport, and many will argue that it is, but it is an individual struggle while wearing the same hat. This game is unpredictable and most of the outcomes are outside of your control. However, there are two things you are in total control of that nobody can disrupt unless you let them: attitude and effort. Control those and focus on the individual responsibility you have, because making excuses and complaining about them is a rocking chair approach. It gives you something to do, but you aren’t going anywhere while you do it. We can’t get too excited about making the playoffs, because the job of getting here is done, and now that we are here, I asked them the question again, ‘what are you going to do about it?'”
Box Score:
R: 1-0-0-1-0-0-0-2-0-(4)
B: 0-0-1-1-2-0-0-2-X-(6)
Win: Anthony Cuevas
Loss: John Pfeffer
Save: Hunter Boylan
2B: Nate Slaman (R); Jarrett Segura (B) 2, Anthony Cuevas (B), John Trainor (B), Nomar Vazquez (B), Hudson Story (B), Skylar Chang (B)
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