Oaks Dismantle Bombers 16–3, Jackson Ties League-Lead for Homers

Oaks Dismantle Bombers 16–3, Jackson Ties League-Lead for Homers

By Micah Rodriguez

Coming off a disappointing day against the Santa Barbara Foresters, the Conejo Oaks rebounded with a 16–3 victory over the San Diego Bombers back home at Pirate Park. 

The Oaks jumped on the Bombers in the bottom of the first. Right fielder Brandon Contreras led off with a bloop double down the left field line. With catcher Aiden Voyles up. Contreras stole third and came around to score on a throwing error to quickly put the Oaks up 1–0 with nobody out.

After Voyles singled up the middle and was thrown out attempting to steal second, third baseman Rider Gordon smoked a double just past a diving third baseman down the left field line. That set the stage for left fielder Dylan Jackson. Already with two big flies on the year, Jackson deposited the first pitch he saw into the left field netting to put the Oaks ahead 3–0. The rising senior at San Jose State University is now tied for the California Collegiate League lead with Jason Del Villar from the Academy Barons, with three home runs on the season. 

Right-hander Will Kaczynski made his second start of the summer on the mound for the Oaks. The rising redshirt sophomore at Ventura College tossed four innings – the longest outing from any Oaks pitcher this season – allowing only one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. 

In the bottom of the second, the Oaks offense exploded for eight runs to blow the game open. Center fielder Bode Grieve led off the inning with a four-pitch walk and stole second. With one out, Contreras lined a single to left field to score Grieve and make it a 4–0 game. The following two batters, Voyles and Gordon, worked walks to load the bases for Jackson.

Jackson ripped a groundball down the third base line that was deflected by the third baseman, but did not stop Contreras from scoring to push the lead to five. With the bases still loaded, designated hitter Tyson Reis and first baseman Danny Aguilera both walked to plate two more and make it a 7–0 game. 

With the bases loaded and still one out, second baseman Grant Rodriguez followed with a ground ball single up the middle to plate another run. Grieve then knocked an RBI groundout to shortstop to make it a 9–0 game. The next batter, shortstop Zach Nagy, reached on a fielding error that allowed two more runs to score as the lead ballooned to 11–0. 

While Kaczynski continued to keep the Bombers bats at bay, the Oaks tacked on another run in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Reis worked a walk and advanced to second on a single from Aguilera. Rodriguez followed with a single to center field, scoring Reis to make it a 12–0 game. 

In relief of Kaczynski, the Oaks called upon Pepperdine right-hander Arnold Wu. The rising sophomore worked three innings – his longest outing of the summer – surrendering one hit and striking out three. 

The Oaks continued to pile on in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, the Oaks loaded the bases thanks to singles from Aguilera and Rodriguez, sending Grieve to the plate. The rising senior at Lafayette College laced a two-RBI double in the right-center gap to make it a 14–0 game.

After a strikeout, Contreras bounced a single up the middle – his fourth hit of the contest – to score one more, and Voyles followed with a single to right as the lead expanded to 16–0. 

The Bombers scraped across three runs in the top of the eighth against incoming freshman Holden Newhouse. The Loyola Marymount University commit escaped the inning with the Oaks maintaining a 16–3 lead. 

In the offense outburst, the Oaks racked up 16 hits. Contreras led the way, going 4-6 with two RBIs en route to earning his first Player of the Game honors. The sweet swinging lefty is now hitting .600 through his three starts, tied for the highest mark in the CCL with Andreas Nilsen from the San Diego Waves. Aguilera and Rodriguez each registered three hits in the game, season highs for both. 16 runs scored was also a season-high.

Coming off a 19–2 loss just a day prior, Head Coach David Soliz was happy to see his guys respond in a dominant fashion. 

"Anytime you play a game, there's a chance you're going to come out like we did yesterday, or like today," Soliz remarked. "But you just have to maintain your consistency with your preparation and mentality."

After going up 11–0 after two innings, Soliz stressed the importance of still sticking to the team's approach.

"Don't give away at-bats," Soliz said. "Every at-bat for hitters matters. Every pitch for a pitcher matters. Continue to play the game the right way. Continue to be a baseball player."

With the win, the Oaks moved to 5–2 on the young season. The Oaks are back in action at Pirate Park tomorrow as they take on a Southern Division rival, the Arroyo Seco Saints. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.