Jensen rips grand slam; Vaqueros edge No. 2 Reedley 5-4

John Jensen drilled a grand slam homer on Friday and SBCC held on to edge Reedley 5-4 in a nonconference baseball game at Pershing Park.

The Vaqueros (8-7) won their fourth straight with their fourth consecutive come-from-behind triumph. The Tigers, ranked No. 2 in Northern Cal, dropped their second in a row after winning their first 12 games.

Reedley, from the San Joaquin Valley near Fresno, grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the third on two hits and three walks. Tony Riley drove in the first run with a single to left and Kevin Page walked with the bases loaded.

The Vaqueros got one back in the bottom of the third when Shane Hersh walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Joseph Hamilton and scored on Jensen's two-out single up the middle.

Jensen, a former Santa Barbara High star, was 2-4 with five RBIs. The Vaqueros scored five runs (four earned) on just five hits in seven innings against Reedley starter Noah Fluharty.

The Vaqueros improved to 5-0 at home this year and went over the .500 mark (8-7) for the first time in 2017.

"Fear the Persh … that was a nail-biter," said SBCC coach Jeff Walker. "That was a well-played game, although it wasn't particularly well-pitched. It's tough to win when you walk 11 guys. Jensen got the timely hits today.

"(Elliott) Reece came in to pitch the ninth and it doesn't matter how you stop it, it just matters that you do it."

 The Vaqueros loaded the bases with one out in the fifth on a single by Hersh, an error on a Hamilton grounder and an infield single by Reinhard Lautz. Jensen drove the first pitch he saw over the right-field fence for a grand slam and a 5-2 lead. It was the ninth homer and third grand slam by the Vaqueros this season.

"I've been seeing the ball really well lately," said Jensen, a 6-1 freshman third baseman who's batting .318 with two homers and eight RBIs. "I've been working with coach in the cage and making some adjustments to my swing. The ball looked good today and I got a good swing.

"I was expecting fastball and that's what I got on the first pitch. I put a good swing on it and it felt great. It's nice to get a team victory, we've been playing really good ball."

Kyle Wade made his first home start for the Vaqueros and struggled with his control, giving up two runs on two hits in four innings with six walks and four strikeouts. Four Vaquero hurlers walked 11 and struck out six.

Left-hander Daniel Buratto, a sophomore from Dos Pueblos High, got his first college win with three innings of relief. He gave up a homer to Sawyer Pittman in the sixth and allowed one run on four hits.

The Tigers got another run in the eighth to pull within 5-4. Reliever Matthew Young walked the first batter, followed by a sacrifice bunt and two more walks to load the bases with two outs. Grant Farris hit a ball behind second base and shortstop Wes Ghan-Gibson fielded it while falling backward, unable to make a play. Juan Parra scored, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Elliott Reece came on in the ninth and walked two batters sandwiched around a strikeout. Casey Wagnon lined a ball at second baseman Michael Montpas and he ran over to second to complete the unassisted double play.

Elliott got the first save of the year for the Vaqueros, who've won seven of their last nine after starting the year 1-5.

The Tigers had seven hits and stranded 14 baserunners.

"It was great to see Reece get the save," added Jensen. "We're really solid, we have very good chemistry, good bats and good defense. I think we're just getting started. We could be very good this year."

The Vaqueros will play their fourth game in four days on Saturday at Pershing Park when they conclude their two-game set with Reedley at 1 p.m.