Rubalcaba's pinch-hit slam ignites offense in 9-6 comeback win over Chaffey

Alonzo Rubalcaba didn't start Saturday's non-conference baseball game but he certainly had the finishing touch. SBCC erased a 4-1 deficit by scoring eight runs in its last four at-bats to beat Chaffey 9-6.

The sophomore catcher from Fairfield, Calif., got the call as a pinch hitter with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth. The Vaqueros were trailing 4-3 at the time.

Johan Castillo came in to relieve with two outs and promptly loaded the bases by walking Jacob Bravo, hitting Kyle Froemke with a pitch and walking designated hitter Jarred Greene. Keaton Biallas was called in from the bullpen to face Rubalcaba with the bases loaded.

Rubalcaba stroked his first homer of the year, a grand slam over the left-field fence that gave the Vaqueros their first lead of the two-game series, 7-4.

"He started off with a slider but it wasn't the pitch I wanted," said Rubalcaba. "He threw it again and I tapped it off. I was hoping he'd give me something I could handle. He gave it to me and I just took it for a ride.

"Everything kind of went black when I hit it. It felt good right off the bat, of course. Our bats came alive all throughout our lineup and we played great defense. We really worked well today."

The Vaqueros (10-6) struggled through the first five innings, trailing the Panthers 4-2 and stranding eight runners. SBCC had scored just two runs in the previous 14 innings.

Brandon Lawrence had a big day for the Vaqueros, reaching base five times by going 3-3 with a double, two walks and two stolen bases. He started the five-run rally in the sixth with a perfect push bunt to the left of the first baseman for a single. He went to second on a wild pitch, to third on a hit-by-pitch and scored on another wild pitch.

Six Chaffey pitchers gave up nine runs on 11 hits with five walks and five hit batters.

Baseball: Alonzo Rubalcaba pinch hit grand slam with 2 outs in 6th and celebration is on. Vaqueros lead Chaffey 7-4. pic.twitter.com/gkOWIAjxjg

— SBCCVaqueros (@SBCCVaqueros) February 29, 2020

SBCC tried Sebastian Kirchner in the "opener" role but that didn't work as he gave up a single and three walks to the first five batters. Matthew Strother replaced him and got out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation by giving up a sacrifice fly to Cooper Way and striking out Colby Sims.

Strother went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Bryan Golnick pitched one-hit ball for the next 2.1 innings and earned his first victory.

"The bottom of the lineup produced and got on base, which was a lot different than yesterday," said SBCC coach Jeff Walker. "Brandon had a phenomenal day and that was exciting to see. Then we got the big hit from Alonzo. We talked about how it's OK to pull the ball and that's what he did.

"It was a day off for Alonzo and he was available for a key situation."

The Vaqueros added single runs in the seventh and eighth on a sacrifice fly by Bravo that scored Lawrence and an RBI double to the right-field fence by Lawrence that brought home Trevor Davis and boosted the lead to 9-4.

Davis made an outstanding play at shortstop to open the eighth, ranging deep in the hole for a grounder and firing a one-hop throw to nip Brad Chesterston at first.

"This was a good bounceback from yesterday (when the Vaqueros got just four hits in a 1-0 loss)," said Walker. "We're still trying to find the right spots for guys in the lineup and we're working on some swings and some team offensive stuff. The execution has to clean up a little bit but as long as we keep finishing and playing defense, we'll be good."

The Vaqueros return to WSC North action next week with a three-game series with Ventura. They'll host the Pirates on Tuesday at 2 p.m., travel to Ventura on Thursday at 2 p.m., then return to Pershing Park on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.