Carpinteria’s Miles Souza pitched a three-hitter with zero walks while fanning 11 in a 4-1 victory at home over Fillmore in a Citrus Coast League game Tuesday.
Souza helped his cause by hitting the second of back-to-back Warrior RBI doubles in the first inning. Erich Goebel hit the first, driving in Luke Lounsbury, who had reached on an infield single.
Fillmore’s three hits and one run all came in the fifth inning.
“Souza was really good today,” Carpinteria coach Pat Cooney said. “He was adding and subtracting, changing eye levels and locating his pitches precisely. It always felt like he was in control of the at bats.
“The early runs really set the tone for the game,” Cooney added. “It was great to see our batters attack fastballs early in the count early in the game.”
The Warriors added two runs in the third. Lounsbury was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on Souza’s second hit and scored on a Fillmore pickoff attempt that got away. Souza later scored on a wild pitch.
“What doesn’t show in the line score is how competitive the bottom of the order was today,” Cooney said. “Zach Mata reached base two out of three times and our eight and nine hole batters applied some good small-ball type pressure. This will be a key to our success going forward.”
Carpinteria is now 9-4 overall and 8-3 in CCL play. The Warriors finish the season series with Fillmore (4-12, 2-10) on Thursday at Booty Sanchez Field in Fillmore.