Santa Barbara High baseball kicked off its CIF-SS Div. 5 playoff run with a 5-4 victory over Loara High on Friday at Eddie Mathews Field in Santa Barbara.
The Dons will remain at home for the second round, as they will host Paramount on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
After Jack Paskin worked a scoreless top of the first, the Santa Barbara High offense erupted for five runs in the bottom half to take an early 5-0 lead.
Milo Winckler opened the scoring with a two-run double, while Emiliano Ramirez drove in a run on a single and two more runs came in to score via a Loara error.
The 5-0 lead held until the fourth inning, when Loara plated one run to trim its deficit to four runs. The Saxons then plated a trio of runs in the fifth to make it a 5-4 game.
However, Emiliano Ramirez took over on the mound and slammed the door to secure the Dons’ victory. Ramirez did not allow an earned run or a hit and struck out five in the final 2 ⅓ innings of the game.
Santa Barbara High, which earned an at-large bid into the playoffs, will look to keep it rolling at home next week.
Dos Pueblos 14, Burroughs 8 (Div. 3)
The Chargers rode a strong offensive performance to a round-one playoff win over Burroughs on Friday in Burbank.
Dos Pueblos will remain on the road to take on Edison High for round two in Huntington Beach on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Charger offense exploded for nine runs in the top of the second inning and never looked back en route to the win.
Dos Pueblos tacked on another run in the fourth and really put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the sixth to round out its scoring.
Nick Salcido led the offensive outburst, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, five RBI and two runs scored. Marcus Carbajal also belted a homer in the win, finishing the day at 2-for-5.
Meanwhile, Matti Di Maggio chipped in three hits and two RBI from the leadoff spot, Spencer Holt went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Stone Saunders came around to score three times.
Liam Shea, Max Cruse and Nick Salcido combined to secure the win on the mound for the Chargers.