Vaqueros rally for 5-4 walk-off win in 10 innings

SBCC erased an early 4-1 deficit on Saturday and rallied to beat East L.A. 5-4 on a walk-off wild pitch in the 10th inning.

It was the first extra-inning baseball game for the Vaqueros (5-7), who were playing their fourth game in five days. It was just their third home appearance in the first 12 contests. They'll be at home for four of the next five.

Wesley Ghan-Gibson, a sophomore shortstop from San Marcos High, had a huge day for the Vaqueros. He went 3-3 with a single, double and solo homer in the eighth that tied it at 4-4. He reached base five times and scored three runs after not playing in the last three games.

Ghan-Gibson was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the 10th. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Schatz and Spencer Lipkin pinch-ran for Ghan-Gibson. Ben Barth reached first on a throwing error by the shortstop and Lipkin went to third.

Kyle Francis, who was the DH for the Huskies, came in to pitch with one out in the ninth. The Vaqueros had runners on second and third but Francis escaped with a strikeout and a groundout to first.

With runners on first and third in the 10th, Francis threw a high pitch to the backstop and Lipkin scored from third, setting off a celebration near home plate.

"We just wanted to get a win to end the week," said Ghan-Gibson. "I just saw it and hit it (on his first homer leading off the eighth). This is an awesome way to win. I'm proud of our guys and how we came back. We didn't show any quit."

The Vaqueros have gone 4-2 since starting the season 1-5. East L.A. (6-7) won its first six games and has dropped its last seven.

Kyle Basch made his first start for SBCC after pitching 1/3 of an inning in the first 12 games. He gave up four runs on six hits in five innings.

"It's good to be back home after a lot of road games," said coach Jeff Walker. "Wes did a great job at the plate and made some plays on defense. He had to wait for his number to be called and it was called today and he answered.

"Basch pitched well in his first college start. It was a good pitching matchup."

Jake Keily (2 innings), Matthew Young (2 innings) and Steven Elliott, who pitched the ninth and got the win, held the Huskies to no runs on two hits in the last five innings.

Elliott (2-0), a freshman left-hander from Alta Loma, Calif., gave up a two-out double to Francis in the ninth, then got pinch-hitter Joaquin Castillo to fly out to right.

Ghan-Gibson singled and scored on an error in the fourth. Blake Ogburn and Jake Holton singled with two outs in the fifth and Ghan-Gibson drove in the third run with a double that curved inside the right-field line.

The Vaqueros will host Cerro Coso of Ridgecrest on Wednesday at 3 p.m. SBCC will play four straight days next week with a Thursday game at Fullerton at 2 p.m. before returning home for a two-game set vs. Reedley on Friday (2:30 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.).