Oaks Defeat Saints 9–4, Francisco Rips Two Triples

Oaks Defeat Saints 9–4, Francisco Rips Two Triples

By Micah Rodriguez

The Conejo Oaks continued to stay hot at Pirate Park, defeating Southern Division rival Arroyo Seco Saints 9–4 as they moved to 5–2 on the young season. 

The Oaks jumped on the board first in the bottom of the first. Right fielder Brandon Contreras led off the game with a walk – he has reached base safely in all four of his starts – and second baseman Nate Lopez was hit on the top of his helmet to put two runners on. The Saints retired the next two batters, sending catcher Brady Francisco to the plate. 

With the count full, the rising junior, now in the transfer portal after his season at Oklahoma State University, ripped a triple into the left-center gap, scoring Contreras and Lopez as the Oaks took a 2–0 lead. The next batter, two-way Luke Medhurst, singled to score Francisco and put the Oaks ahead 3–0 after one.  

Big right-hander Caden Sramek made his first start of the summer for the Oaks. After making his first two appearances of the summer out of relief, Sramek carried the Oaks through the first two innings. Currently in the transfer portal after his freshman season at Oklahoma State University, Sramek worked around three hit batters in the first inning and a walk in the second inning to keep the Saints off the scoreboard. 

The Saints plated four runs in the top half of the third to snag their first lead of the contest. Left-hander Thomas Novak entered the game for Sramek and suffered from some command issues as he walked five Saints. His battery mate, Francisco, threw out his second runner of the game attempting to steal second to help Novak escape the inning with the Oaks trailing by one, 4–3. 

Rising sophomore James Latshaw made his first appearance of the season on the mound in relief of Novak. Having appeared in four games in the field, Latshaw delivered two scoreless frames, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one.

While the Oaks offense looked for a spark in the middle innings, the bullpen continued to hold the Saints offense scoreless. 

Right-hander Kyle Zahn made his second appearance of the summer following Latshaw. The 6'7' Zahn worked a scoreless sixth and seventh with two strikeouts as the bullpen continued to be lights out. 

Medhurst led off the bottom of the sixth with his second single of the day, a leadoff knock into right-center field. Witkow, a rising sophomore at Harvard, followed with his second hit of the day, a hard line drive into right field to put two runners on with nobody out. With one out, the Oaks pulled off a double steal, and shortstop Zach Mora lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Medhurst and knot the score at four.

With Wikow and third and two away, Contreras stepped up to the plate. Entering the day tied for the highest batting average in the California Collegiate League at .600, the left-hander ripped an RBI single to right-center, giving the Oaks a 5–4 lead.

"I'm just shirking the moment," Contreras remarked about his big swing. "I'm not trying to get too big. I'm just trying to put the ball right back up the middle and make him come to me. He was throwing a lot of offspeed pitches to me and I was swinging at pitches out of the zone. Seeing him twice was key, and seeing something up while not trying to do too much."

Looking to add insurance runs, the Oaks batted around in the bottom of the seventh. First baseman Tyson Reis led off the inning with a sharp double, and left fielder Dylan Jackson walked to put two runners on with no outs. 

In a 0-2 count, Francisco smoked his second triple of the day, this time into the right-center gap to score two and put the Oaks ahead by three. 

Head Coach David Soliz previously coached Francisco with the Oaks back in 2023, before he ever registered a collegiate inning. The Francisco Soliz sees now is a completely different player. 

"He's very athletic, but his biggest growth has been within," Head Coach David Soliz said. "He did a really nice job with us when he was coming out of high school, and now that's just grown tremendously."

One batter later, Witkow lined his third hit of the day through the left side to score Francisco and make it an 8–4 game. 

A few batters later, Mora lifted an RBI double just inside the right field line to plate designated hitter Rider Gordon, who reached on a fielder's choice to extend the lead to five, 9–4.

Zahn went back out for the eighth inning, marking his longest appearance of the season. He continued to be efficient, working around a two-out double to maintain a five-run lead heading into the bottom half. 

The Oaks sent out Matthew Sanders for the ninth inning. Making his third appearance of the season, Sanders worked around two singles with a flyout, and two strikeouts to secure a 9–4 victory.

Riding a two-game win streak, the Oaks have Monday off before returning to Pirate Park on Tuesday to face off with the Santa Barbara Foresters. Santa Barbara, currently 6–1, defeated the Oaks in their first two matchups of the season, 6–4 and 19–2. 

Despite the two losses, Soliz wants his players to stay within themselves as they head towards their third contest with the Foresters. 

"Stay the course," Soliz said when asked about the message heading into Tuesday's matchup. "It's been a proven recipe."

First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.