Barons Take 3 of 3 in San Juan Capistrano

The Urban Academy Barons of the California Collegiate League completed a 3 game weekend in San Juan Capistrano. Winning 3 out of the 3 games in their first road trip of the season has put their record to 5-1. In the first game on Friday, the Barons went up against the San Diego Force of the Western Baseball League. The Force showed up, but was unable to press any type of attack. The Barons scored a run in each of the first two innings, and two more in the 5^th inning. Their bats came out to play with energy and finished the game with 14 hits. Brett Vertigan as the lead off hitting center fielder from Saddleback Community College shined with a double and a pair of base hits, while Shane Boras, the second baseman from USC singled 3 times. The run production for the Barons came from other sources. The left fielder from UC Santa Barbara Derek Eligio singled in a run and doubled in another. The player of the game for the Barons has to be Jordan Hinshaw the sophomore from Cal State Poly. He not only hit a solo homerun and double, he also pitched an excellent 3 innings of 1 hit ball. A teammate of Hinshaw at Poly is fellow pitcher Erick Ruvalcaba. Only a freshman, he pitched the final 3 innings, allowing no hits as he struck out 2. The Barons won the game 4-2. The next day on Saturday, the Barons were in for a double header against another Western Baseball League team, the East L.A Dodgers. The Barons were actually out hit in this game, but in sports, what counts most is scoring more runs. That’s exactly what the Barons did, and it was led by two hitters who combined for more than half of the scoring for the Academy. Billy Hamilton, the Sophomore First Baseman from Vanguard University came up big for the Barons. He went 2 for 4 on a base hit and double that produced 2 RBI’s; he also scored twice in the process. He was followed by the DH Mac Tucker, the freshman from West Los Angeles College is learning to produce, he banged out an RBI base hit and a fly ball hit far enough into right field to drive in Connor Rhoads. The pitching for the Barons looked gloomy in the first 3 innings as JR Bromberg gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. But that was followed by some respectable work turned in by the senior lefty from Vanguard University Brandon Godfrey, and the big right handed free agent from Puerto Plata Dominican Republic. They each turned in 3 scoreless innings. The second game was when the Academy Barons turned on their after burners and went on a 17 hit, 16 run tear against the battered East L.A Dodgers. In this game, the junior outfielder from Biola University exploded in only his 3^rd game this season. He went 4 for 4, with 5 RBI’s, and scored a run. Two base hits came in the 3^rd inning alone, and then an RBI single in the 5^th, and a two run blast in the 6^th. The pitching for the Barons started rougher than the pavement on Artesia Blvd. Joe Spizzirri the junior from Notre Dame, struggled in his 3 innings as 5 runs scored against him. The best pitcher for the Barons in this game was another student from Vanguard University. Robert Purpura pitched the last two innings of the game by striking out 5 hitters, giving up 2 hits, and a walk. It wasn’t perfect, but it was effective as the Barons routed the Dodgers 16-6. Now it’s on to Elks Field in Santa Maria California to face the Santa Maria Packers.

Adrian Nevarez