Vaqueros go bat crazy in 18-0 rout

SBCC's struggling offense came to life in a big way on Tuesday as the Vaqueros overwhelmed Antelope Valley 18-0 in a non-conference baseball game at Pershing Park.

The Vaqueros (5-3) stormed out to an 11-0 lead after five innings and collected a season-high 17 hits. Left-hander Ian Churchill improved to 2-0 by pitching three-hit ball for five innings with six strikeouts and one walk.

Patrick Caulfield, the Vaqueros' leadoff hitter, had a big day, going 2-for-3 with five RBIs and his first college homer.

"We came to the yard today and really focused on competing," said Caulfield, a sophomore outfielder from Burlingame. "We've had trouble the last few games, especially in the first few innings. We grinded out at-bats and scored runners when we needed to."

The Vaqueros took a 2-0 lead in the first on singles by Nicholas Prainito and Boston Hubbard and a clutch two-out, two-run single by designated hitter Joshua Perlmutter. They got another run in the second on Mason Metcalfe's RBI single and then batted around in the third, scoring five runs on four hits and two walks to make it 8-0.

Perlmutter, who made his season debut, drove in two more on a single up the middle, giving him four RBIs in the first three innings. He went 2-3 with four RBIs. Addison Lueras knocked in Perlmutter with a two-out single in the third and Caulfield delivered another two-run, two-out single to right center.

Metcalfe went 2-3 with three RBIs, including a two-run double in the fifth. Phil Quartararo pinch-hit in the seventh and racked up doubles in the seventh and eighth. He scored in the seventh on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Tommy Holguin (2-2, 2 RBIs), then Caulfield unloaded his first collegiate homer with a two-run shot over the left-field fence.

"I was just trying to hit something hard," said Caulfield. "The past couple of games, I haven't been hitting balls as hard. With all the rain, we've been getting a lot of hacks in the cage and I think we prepared well for this game.

"Last year, I hit one off the top of the yellow (atop the outfield fence) and it bounced back, so this feels good. I'm not really a home-run hitter but they come around once in a while."

Coach Jeff Walker used 17 position players and five pitchers. The Vaqueros added four more runs in the eighth, capped by a two-run double by pinch-hitter Aidan Wirshing, who came around to score the last run on a wild pitch.

Seven Marauder pitchers issued six walks and hit four batters.

"It was good to come back with a win at home and even the series with them 1-1," said Walker. "We stayed short at the plate today, stayed in the middle and put the ball in play. We cracked the egg early with Perlmutter, he gave us a real shot in the arm in his first start of the year. We did a good job of two-out hitting and getting two-out RBIs.

"Ian gave us a good effort for five innings. It would be nice to see him go a little longer but it wasn't in the cards today."

Toby Spach, Jake McBride, Joshua Alpough and Conner Roberts all pitched an inning and they combined with Churchill for a three-hit shutout. The five Vaquero hurlers struck out 11 and walked only two.

"One of my highlights in coaching was watching Aidan hit that two-run double in the  eighth," said Walker. "We got a good start to the week and now we're playing a good Chaffey team three times."

The Vaqueros will travel to Rancho Cucamonga to take on Chaffey on Thursday at 2 p.m., then host the Panthers in a doubleheader on Saturday at Pershing Park at 1 and 4 p.m.