Carpinteria executed a delayed double steal and scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning and beat Fillmore 2-1 in a Citrus Coast League baseball game at Fillmore on Friday.
Freshman Hunter Garcia hit a pop up into the breezy sky and it fell between first and second base, allowing Miles Souza to score from second base with the winning run.
Souza, pitching in relief of starter Chase Mayer, induced a ground ball with a runner at second base for the final out.
“We played well enough as a group to win,” Carpinteria coach Pat Cooney said. “Though hits were scarce against a good pitcher, we went deep enough in counts in the early innings to force the late change.”
The Warriors (4-1, 3-1 in CCL) scored the tying and winning runs off Emanuel Avila, who relieved Flashes’ ace Augustin Osegueda in the seventh.
Fillmore fell to 7-2 and 3-1 in league.
Down 1-0, the Warriors had Anders Johnson on third base and Miles Souza at first with two outs. On the first pitch from Avila, they executed a delayed double steal, and Johnson scored the tying run.
Jacob Macias was hit by a pitch and Garcia followed with his RBI pop fly.
Mayer was efficient through five innings scattering six hits, walking two and striking out three while using just 56 pitches.
Souza picked up the win as he tossed the final two frames of scoreless ball and gave up just one hit while inducing five ground balls.
“The defense made some really good plays to back yet another good pitching effort.” Cooney said. “Executing a first-and-third play at the end of the game proved to be a big deal. I’m not sure whether the Ides of March showed up early for the Flashes or the Warriors benefitted from some Irish luck, but I do know that it was an important win.”
The Warriors continue Citrus Coast League play on Monday with a rain make-up game at home against Malibu.