Bulldogs Fall Short in Series Opener at Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College baseball team dropped the series opener against Santa Barbara City College on Tuesday afternoon in a 6-5 loss on the road. | BOX SCORE

An RBI single from Jacob Steels put the Bulldogs (11-10, 3-7 WSC) on the board first in the third frame after a slow offensive start for both teams. SBCC (13-7, 6-1 WSC) took the lead after a three-run showing in the bottom of the sixth inning. A pair of RBIs from Zach Martinez and Kalub Ramirez put Hancock back on top briefly in the seventh, but the Vaqueros bounced back with a trio of runs in the following frame to go up by two. Steels registered the final run of the game in the ninth frame with a shot to left-center that plated one, but the Bulldogs fell short after leaving one man stranded at third at the end of the inning. 

Steels led the Bulldogs at the plate after a 2-for-4 showing that featured two RBIs and one run. Ramierez also registered a pair of RBIs after a 1-for-3 mark. Steels and Brayan Nunez also collected one stolen base apiece in the contest.

Lucas Earle was charged with the loss after surrendering two earned runs on two hits through 1.2 innings. Matthew Gonzales earned the start but did not factor into the final decision after 5.2 innings of work. He struck out nine batters while allowing three earned runs after scattering five hits. Vance Serrano and Bradley Waite also made brief appearances on the bump but did not factor into the final decision.  

The Bulldogs are set to host Santa Barbara on March 18th and 19th at John Osborne Field to close out the three-game series.