Taft College has gotten off to a rough start in Central Valley Conference play, falling to 1-5 in the CVC after suffering a three-game series sweep to College of the Sequoias last week. The Cougars came out on the losing end of a slugfest in Game 1, falling 17-12. On Thursday, the Taft battled for 10 innings only to lose 4-3. And on Saturday, the series concluded with a 8-0 defeat at home.
Game 1: COS 17, Taft 12
Luis DeLeon went 3 for 5 with a home run and 5 RBI to lead the Cougars in the opener on Tuesday in Taft. Buster Hardman (2 for 6), Andrew Velez (1 for 3), and Greyson Barrett (2 for 3) all drove in two runs each.
But Sequoias banged out 21 hits and took advantage of four Taft errors to slug their way to the win. Leading 3-2, COS scored 5 runs in the top of the fourth and added five more in the fifth.
Taft trailed 15-5 in the bottom of the sixth and got back in the game with an impressive seven-run rally. DeLeon's two-run home run capped the surge and got the Cougars within three runs at 15-12.
Michael Selleck took the loss for Taft, allowing 3 runs and 7 hits over 3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Game 2: COS 4, Taft 3 (10 innings)
Greyson Barrett smashed a pair of home runs while Taft starting pitcher Manny Guzman pitched six solid innings but the Cougars couldn't push across the winning run in a 10-inning, 4-3 loss to Sequoias in Visalia on Thursday.
Trailing 3-0, Barrett's solo shot in the top of the sixth finally got the Cougars on the board. And with two outs in the eighth, Barrett came through in the clutch with a two-run homer that scored pinch runner Andrew Velez and tied up the ball game.
Guzman allowed 3 runs, all unearned, and 6 hits while striking out five. Brady Ojeda was solid with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Taft couldn't turn a double play in the bottom of the 10th that would have ended the inning and COS was able to score the walk-off run.
Game 3: COS 8, Taft 0
History was made on Saturday, unfortunately the Cougars were on the wrong end of it. Sequoias pitcher Benjamin Pedersen tossed a perfect game against Taft in helping lead his squad to the series sweep.
Taft starter Greyson Barrett matched zeroes with Pedersen for the first four innings before COS put up a pair of runs in the fifth to go ahead for good.
Barrett allowed 5 runs and 9 hits over 7 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Taft returns to Central Valley Conference action, opening another three-game series at Fresno City College on Tuesday (Mar. 3) at 3 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday (Mar. 5) at 3 p.m. in Taft with the finale set for Saturday (Mar. 7) back in Fresno at 2 p.m.