Carpinteria fell behind 7-0 after three innings against first-place Santa Paula and ended up dropping a 7-4 decision in a Citrus Coast League baseball game on Wednesday in Santa Paula.
The Warriors staged a rally in the fifth, pushing across four runs. But Santa Paula ace Bryce Zavala regrouped and ended the threat.
Erich Goebel and Matt Muñoz paced the Warrior attack with two hits apiece. Goebel narrowly missed hitting a three-run homer as his ball bounced high off the fence. Muñoz had a double and an RBI. Talon Trumble and Oscar Velazquez each had RBI singles in the four-run fifth.
“The first inning was a lot to overcome. Still, we never wavered and won the next six innings 4-2,” said Carpinteria coach Pat Cooney. “We flashed the leather a few times as Goebel covered a ton of ground in center field, Muñoz was solid at second base, Diego Nieves threw out a would-be base stealer, first baseman Zach Mata made a great play on a bunt and our last play on defense was a 6-4-3 double play.”
The Warriors (4-8-1 and 3-6-1 in the CCL) host Santa Paula (11-7, 10-2) Friday in the final game of the season series between the two teams.