2014 SBCC Baseball News

Season
Five Vaqueros help Foresters win NBC national title
Five Vaqueros help Foresters win NBC national title

Five members of the SBCC baseball program helped the Santa Barbara Foresters claim their fifth National Baseball Congress title last Saturday in Wichita, Kan. The Foresters edged the defending champion Seattle Studs 3-2 in 12 innings at Lawrence Dumont Stadium.

Cody Van Aken is the fourth Vaquero to sign with an NCAA Division 1 school.
Van Aken signs with South Alabama

Cody Van Aken, a sidearm relief pitcher for SBCC, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball for the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.

Lucas Benenati struck out 16 batters in 13 1/3 innings and helped SBCC reach the So Cal Sectionals during the best playoff run in school history.
Benenati gets scholarship to Kansas State

Sophomore relief pitcher Lucas Benenati has accepted a scholarship to continue his baseball career at Kansas State.

Zack Zehner was picked in the 7th round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
2 ex-Vaqueros taken in MLB Draft

Zack Zehner, a former star outfielder at SBCC in 2013, was selected in the seventh round of this week’s Major League Baseball draft (204th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Joey Epperson, the top hitter for UCSB, was picked in the 13th round by the San Diego Padres.

Kit Larson made the All-Academic State team in the classroom and All-American on the field.
Larson makes All-Southern Cal and All-American teams

Kit Larson completed a rare trifecta on Thursday when he was named to the All-Southern California and All-American baseball teams by the California Commuity College Baseball Coaches Association.

Ex-SBCC shortstop Steven Reveles started 48 of 51 games at Nebraska.
3 ex-Vaqueros playing in NCAA Regionals

Three players from last year’s SBCC baseball team are participating in the 64-team NCAA Regionals, which start on Friday.

Tyler Gilbert went 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. (Photo by Dave Loveton)
Vaqueros’ playoff run ends with 3-2 setback

Saturday’s second game of the Southern Cal Sectional baseball series looked a lot like the first one. No. 3 seed SBCC jumped out to a 2-0 lead at No. 2 Oxnard, only to see the Condors rally for three runs in the sixth on the way to a 3-2 victory.

Jimmy Brakka singled in the 2nd and 4th innings of Friday's Sectional opener. (Photo by Dave Loveton)
Oxnard edges Vaqueros 2-1 in Sectional opener

Daniel Barnett delivered a two-run, opposite-field single down the right-field line in the seventh inning on Friday and Oxnard went on to edge SBCC 2-1 in Game 1 of its Southern Cal Sectional baseball series.

O’Brien gets scholarship to UCSB
O’Brien gets scholarship to UCSB

SBCC catcher Patrick O’Brien will continue his baseball career at UCSB after accepting a scholarship from the Gauchos earlier this month.

Reliever Lucas Benenati (right) celebrates Saturday's 8-1 win with catcher Paddy O'Brien. SBCC will face WSC North rival Oxnard in the Sectionals. (Photo by Jeanise Eaton)
Vaqueros to play Sectional series at Oxnard

SBCC will face a familiar opponent in the Southern Cal Sectional baseball playoffs.

Tyler Gilbert tossed shutout ball for 7 innings and only allowed 5 hits as the Vaqueros wrapped up their first-ever Super Regional series win. (Photo by Jeanise Eaton)
Vaqueros rout Mission 8-1, advance to So Cal Sectionals

The SBCC baseball team is going where no Vaqueros have gone before. Tyler Gilbert tossed a five-hitter for seven innings and Brandon Evans and James Hill drove in two runs apiece on Saturday as the Vaqueros downed L.A. Mission 8-1 to sweep the best-of-3 Super Regional 2-0.

Right fielder Noeh Martinez went 2-3 with 2 RBIs and threw out a runner at home in Friday's 3-0 victory. (Photo by Ally Reilly)
Bruce, Martinez pace 3-0 shutout in Super Regional opener

Justin Bruce pitched eight innings of shutout ball on Friday and Noeh Martinez came up big at the plate and in the field as SBCC opened its Super Regional baseball series with a 3-0 shutout of L.A. Mission.

Catcher Paddy O'Brien is batting .324, including .429 (9-21) in his last six games.
Vaqueros to host Super Regional for first time

SBCC will host a Super Regional for the first time in its baseball history this weekend when L.A. Mission comes to Pershing Park for a best 2-of-3 series. The Vaqueros (25-13) are making their fourth straight playoff appearance and competing in a Super Regional.

Tyler Gilbert returned from a three-week break to toss six innings of two-run ball in an 8-2 triumph. SBCC will host a Super Regional for the first time ever, starting on Friday. (Photo by Jeanise Eaton)
Vaqueros top SBVC 8-2 to take Regional series

SBCC scored seven runs in a two-inning stretch on Saturday and went on to beat San Bernardino Valley 8-2 and claim the Southern Cal Regional baseball series 2-0. The sixth-seeded Vaqueros (25-13) improved to 17-3 at home and moved into the Super Regional for just the second time in school history.

Justin Bruce went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts. (Photo by Dave Loveton)
Bruce, O’Brien spark 9-3 win in Regional opener

The pitcher and catcher got it done for Santa Barbara City College on Friday in a Southern Cal Regional baseball opener at Pershing Park. Justin Bruce, a first team All-WSC hurler, tossed seven solid innings and catcher Patrick O’Brien went 3-3 with two RBIs as No. 6 seed SBCC downed No. 11 San Bernardino Valley 9-3.

1st-team All-WSC pick Kit Larson had the best ERA (0.82) in the WSC North.
8 Vaqueros make All-WSC North

Pitchers Justin Bruce and Kit Larson were first-team All-WSC North baseball selections and eight SBCC players made the elite team.