El Capitan picks up big baseball sweep of Buhach Colony, takes over first place in CCC
After two early Central California Conference losses, El Capitan High School baseball coach Aaron Ruiz leaned on his seniors to help turn things around.
The Gauchos rebounded in a big way this week, sweeping Buhach Colony in a two-game series, including a 6-2 victory on Friday at El Capitan.
It was two Gauchos seniors leading the way with pitcher Carson Viers throwing a complete game, and leadoff hitter Jacob Reyes sparking the offensive attack with three hits and three RBIs.
Friday’s victory elevates the Gauchos (12-4 overall, 6-2 CCC) to sole possession of first place in the conference standings. Buhach Colony falls to 15-5 overall and 3-3 in the CCC.
“After dropping two games that we shouldn’t have lost this is really big,” Viers said. “It helps us get closer to a CCC title and (Buhach Colony) is one of the teams in our way. Getting this seep was huge for us.”
Viers said he watched how El Capitan ace Andrew Bakken attacked the Thunder hitters by throwing strikes on Wednesday and he tried to keep the same game plan.
The senior right-hander gave up solo runs in the fist and fourth innings, but managed to stay out of big jams throughout the game. He gave up just six hits, one walk and threw only 86 pitches.
“I watched Andrew Bakken get ahead in the court and throw a lot of strikes on Wednesday and that seemed to work,” Viers said. “I locked in with my curveball, changeup and tried to keep their hitters off balance.”
The Gauchos offense kept the pressure on the Thunder pitchers all game.
After squandering a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the first inning, El Capitan tied the game at 1-1 in the second inning on a two-out RBI single by Reyes.
Mitchell Hunter gave the Gauchos a 2-1 lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to drive in Juan Munoz.
El Capitan then broke the game open in the fourth inning with four runs. Reyes and Aiden Kuhls both delivered two-run singles during the rally that gave the Gauchos a 6-1 lead.
Reyes says he doesn’t change his approach whether he’s leading off an inning or trying to drive in a run.
“It’s the same thing every at-bat,” Reyes said. “I want to hit the ball hard. Whether I’m trying to get on or drive someone in I want to get a ball in the zone and hit it hard.”
Ruiz says Reyes is the guy they want up in those situations.
“He’s our best weapon,” Ruiz said. “That’s why he’s up in that spot. He gets things going for us. He’s another one of our senior captains who we count on.”
The Gauchos were also flawless on defense, not committing an error behind Viers all game. Meanwhile, Buhach Colony finished with four errors that help extend innings for El Capitan.
“Our defense is the main thing,” Reyes said. “That’s a big reason for our success. We’re a good fastball hitting team and if we can make the plays on defense it will keep us in the game.”
“Our defense is something we work on at practice,” Viers added. “It’s playing for the guy next to you and having each other’s back out there. That’s all part of playing good defense and today was another good team effort.”
