by Kaivon Kealoha
On Tuesday, Taft opened the 3 game series against Porterville with a solid victory. The Cougars struck for 3 in the third, 1 in the fourth, and 5 more for insurance in the eighth.
Seth Sorensen earned a win on the mound throwing 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 strikeouts. Matt Rogers got 4 innings of work out of the bullpen sparing no runs.
Brendan Halstrom hit a 3-run home run in the third inning to put the Cougars on the board.
Travis Turner went 2-for-4 and Richard Ortiz went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Austin Pendergrass and Luke Lubiniecki also collected 1 RBI apiece.
A wild pitch, a balk, and a double by Ortiz with runners in scoring position manufactured the 5 runs scored in the eighth.
The Cougars will travel to Porterville on Thursday March 17 to play game 2 of the three game set.