Oaks Bruise Their Way to 12–6 Victory Over Northern Division-Leading Blues

By Micah Rodriguez

Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not five. Not six. But seven. In the first three innings, the Conejo Oaks wore six pitches, helping them hold on for a 12–6 back-and-forth victory. Brandon Contreras and Matthew Witkow had massive two-out, two-RBI singles. The Blues entered the game 24–7, with four more wins than any other club in the CCL. 

After failing to best the Foresters at this point in the summer, the Oaks picked up arguably their biggest win of the season and are now riding a four-game winning streak. 

Derek Turner, coming off four scoreless innings against the Philippines Baseball Group in his last outing, overcame some defensive miscues to battle through four innings. The right-hander surrendered six hits, allowed six runs (two earned), and struck out three.

In the top of the first, the Blues loaded the bases with one out. Turner induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape the inning unscathed.

Then in the home half of the first, the Oaks kicked off the scoring. Owen Meli was hit by a fastball with one out, and Reis walked, putting two runners on for Matthew Witkow. The lefty delivered a clutch two-run single to left, putting the Oaks ahead 2–0 early. In his last eight games, the rising sophomore at Harvard has eight RBIs.

The Blues briefly retook the lead with a three-run showing in the top half of the third. But as the club has done so well recently, the Oaks immediately responded with six in the home half. Reis and Witkow opened the inning with singles. With one out, Aiden Voyles and Nate Lopez were hit by pitches. 

Two wild pitches let two more Oaks touch home, and they took a 5–3 lead. Contreras then ripped a sharp ground ball up the middle, scoring two more and extending their lead to 7–3. Caden Stillwell put the finishing touches on the inning with a single down the right field line to score another, making it an 8–3 game. 

The Blues, leading the Northern Division, chipped away at the deficit in the fourth. The club capitalized on two Oaks errors to plate three runs, making it an 8–6 game after four innings. 

The Oaks punched back in the bottom of the sixth. Stillwell and Reis opened the inning with singles, and Witkow walked, loading the bases with nobody out. Following a pitching change, Tyler Antwine walked, and Voyles blooped an RBI single to left, extending the Oaks' lead to 10–6. 

The Pepperdine bullpen duo of Arnold Wu and Pierson Howe was lights out. In Wu's two innings of work, the right-hander worked around two walks for two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Howe relieved Wu and was stellar in his two innings. The right-hander allowed two hits and struck out four. 

Meli jump-started the Oaks offense again in the bottom of the seventh. He was hit by his third pitch of the game, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. One batter later, Reis ripped an RBI single to center, making it an 11–6 game.

Contreras finished off another multi-hit game with an RBI single down the right field line in the eighth to cap off a 12-run day, further extending the Oaks' lead, 12–6.

Jaden Valdez entered the game in the ninth and worked a clean inning in his seventh appearance of the summer. The right-hander has mowed down ten in just eight innings of work this summer.

In the heart of the order, Reis and Witkow continued to stay hot at the dish. Reis finished 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Witkow ended 5-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs. Stillwell, who entered as a pinch hitter in the fourth, also finished with a three-hit day. It was Stillwell's second consecutive three-hit game. Zach Mora registered a two-hit day in the nine hole. 

With the win, the Oaks are 15–8 and have jumped up to second place in the Southern Division. After sweeping their four-game homestand, the Oaks travel north to Santa Barbara tomorrow for a contest with the Southern Division-leading Santa Barbara Foresters. First pitch is at 4 p.m.