Cougars roll to fifth straight win with 15-6 road victory at Reedley

Taft College banged out 14 hits on its way to its fifth straight win, a 15-6 victory at Reedley College on Thursday in Game 2 of a three-game Central Valley Conference series.

Taft will look to earn its second straight sweep when the three-game set wraps up on Saturday back in Taft at 1 p.m.

The Cougars appeared to be on their way to an easy win, leading 7-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. But Reedley rallied for five runs in the bottom of the frame to get within in one run at 7-6.

In the top of the ninth, Taft put the game out of reach, pushing across eight runs to secure the win. The Cougars sent 15 batters to the plate in the epic inning and totaled five hits with five walks.

Despite totaling 14 hits, just two went for extra bases. Andres Rolon smacked a solo home run with one out in the top of the first before Javier Ramirez hit a RBI double in the second. Ramirez led Taft at the plate, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run.

Jacob Cruz (1-for-1) and James McCallum (2-for-4) also drove in two runs each while Jade Smoot (2-for-4, 1 RBI) chipped in with a pair of hits.

Cassius Sly picked up the win with a terrific start. He allowed three runs and two hits over seven innings. Sly struck out eight and walked four.

The victory improved Taft to 13-10 overall and 6-2 in CVC play. Over their five-game winning streak, the Cougars have outscored their opponents by a 65-33 margin.