Big Hits Lead SBVC to Sweep of Chaffey

Big Hits Lead SBVC to Sweep of Chaffey

Ignacio Zamora's towering home run to left field in the seventh inning broke a 7-7 tie and helped the San Bernardino Valley College baseball team beat Chaffey College for the fourth time this season, 10-8 in an Inland Empire Athletic Conference game Monday.

SBVC was down 4-0 after the first inning and a half, but tied it in the bottom half of the second. With one out, Nathan Campos-Jaramillo singled, and Anthony (A.J.) Mico reached on an infield single. Justin Robles walked to load the bases, and Luis Martinez-Gomez lined a single low off the fence in left field to score Jaramillo. After Jason Lopez struck out, Melchor Flores sent a soft line drive into short right-center, and got by a diving Jared Bujanda in center field, and rolled behind him allowing all three runners to score, and Flores to slide safely into third, tying the score at 4.

Chaffey took the lead back in the fourth, but SBVC rallied to take its first lead in the bottom half of the inning. With one out Zamora walked, and one out later, he stole second. Alec Castillo walked and both of them scored on a line double off the fence in left field by Jaramillo, making it 6-5 after four.

The Wolverines extended the lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Flores, but Chaffey scored twice in the sixth to tie the game at 7.

In the seventh, Flores reached on an infield single, then stole second - and went to third as the throw went into center field. And then Zamora got a hold of a pitch by Braden Hofmeyer and launched it over the white line in left field to make it 9-7. The Wolverines got one more in the inning, as Juan Ramirez followed Zamora with a single. Castillo bunted him to second, then Ramirez scored, as he advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored as the throw to third went into left field. 

Lopez moved from first base to the mound in the eighth, and worked out of a jam in the eighth, and then gave up a run in the ninth before notching his third strikeout to close the game.

Jacob Castaneda pitched the seventh to pick up the win for SBVC, striking out two in his inning of work. 

Flores ended the game 3-for-5 with a run and four runs batted in. Jaramillo was 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Zamora was 1-for-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch twice, scoring twice.

SBVC doesn't have long to rest after Monday's win, as they will start its regularly-scheduled three-game series at Barstow on Tuesday.