Vaqueros blank Fullerton 4-0 to win Super Regional

SBCC got off to a fast start on Mother's Day at Pershing Park, then rode its formidable pitching and defense to a 4-0 shutout that clinched the Super Regional baseball series with Fullerton.

The third-seeded Vaqueros posted shutouts on Saturday and Sunday to beat the Hornets 2-1 in the best-of-3 series. Santa Barbara is 4-1 in the playoffs with four shutouts and three complete games.

Lucas Jacobsen, Ian Clark and Steven Ledesma combined on Sunday's six-hit shutout. Jacobsen (8-3) went the first five innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven. He also walked three and got out of bases-loaded jams in the second and third innings.

"I didn't have my best stuff and didn't have good command of my fastball," said Jacobsen, a 6-5 freshman left-hander who's committed to Long Beach State next year. "I made sure to compete and I did well in making clutch pitches when it counted. It was good because I had my offense behind me early to give me some confidence.

"I haven't pitched in a couple of weeks because Sean Barry and Justin Bruce have been dominating."

Jacobsen hadn't pitched since April 23 when he recorded his only complete game – a four-hitter in a 14-0 win over Hancock.

SBCC improved to 32-9 on the season and 19-4 at Pershing Park. The Vaqueros have won eight of their last nine games.

It was the 11th shutout of the year for the pitching staff, which is No. 3 in California with a 2.00 ERA. The Vaqueros didn't give up an earned run to Fullerton (24-17) in three games, allowing just two unearned runs in a 13-inning first-game setback on Friday. They haven't allowed an earned run in five playoff games this year.

SBCC got off to a fast start on Sunday with three runs in the first inning. Cameron Jones walked and went to third on Matt Henderson's single to right. Jones scores on a sacrifice fly by Connor McManigal and Jimmy Hill reached base when shortstop Justin Row bobbled a tailor-made double-play ball for an error.

Henderson and Hill went to second and third on a wild pitch by starter Gordon Cardenas and both scored on Jimmy Brakka's one-out single to left that made it 3-0.

Brakka went 4-4 on the day with two RBI. Henderson reached base four straight times, getting hit by pitches in his last three at-bats.

"We scored in the first, which was good, and our pitching and defense with a 4-0 lead … I'm sure in their dugout, it probably felt like it was 10-0," said SBCC coach Jeff Walker, after the 99th win of his four-year SBCC career. "Lucas Jacobsen did his thing, going five innings and our bullpen is very strong.

"Our pitching's been great but our defense has been great too. You can't throw shutouts without the other eight guys behind your pitcher."

The Vaqueros got another run in the second when Matt Gimenez singled and Spencer Erdman laid down the first of his three bunt singles. Fullerton made a pitching change and Jones greeted reliever Nico Castaneda with a sacrifice bunt that scored Gimenez and made it 4-0.

SBCC is 23-0 when scoring first this season and 13-0 when scoring in the first inning.

Brakka, a sophomore first baseman from San Marcos High, singled to left in the first, singled to right in the third and reached on an infield single in the fifth when he hit a hard shot that deflected off the pitcher's glove to the second baseman, who threw late to first. His final hit was a one-out single to left in the seventh.

"It was 'See ball, hit ball' today and this was the most comfortable I've felt in a long time," said Brakka. "It felt great to finally break out. We had so much confidence coming into today because we knew we had three really good pitchers. Guys who could be No. 1 at a lot of other schools."

Clark gave up a single and two walks in two innings. He benefited from double plays that ended the sixth and seventh. Ledesma retired the final six batters in order on five groundouts and a strikeout looking to end the series.

"We feel like we have some unfinished business from last year," said Walker, whose team was swept by Oxnard 2-0 in last year's Sectionals. "If our pitching and defense plays like they will, then we'll be fine. And we'll be at home this year."

The Vaqueros will host No. 10 Orange Coast (25-16) in the Sectionals on Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon (if necessary). The defending state champion Pirates were blown out 13-0 in Game 1 at No. 8 Glendale, then won two straight, 4-2 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday.

The other Southern Cal Sectional matchup is No. 11 Saddleback (27-14) at No. 1 Palomar (34-6). The winners of each Sectional will advance to the State Final Four on May 23-25 at Fresno City College.