Joe Firestone belted two triples and drove in three runs, and Santa Barbara High’s baseball team capitalized on 12 walks and five errors by Ridgewood, Ill., to win its final game at the Coach Bob Invitational, 15-0, on Thursday in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Dons blew the game open with a nine-run sixth inning. The game was called after the sixth on the tournament’s 10-run mercy rule.
Firestone led an eight-hit attack with three hits.
Tim Piozet earned his first win of the season. He limited the Rebels to four hits, struck out nine and walked one.
“We needed this win to finish the tournament on a high note,” Santa Barbara coach Donny Warrecker said. “Tim was consistently ahead of the hitters and not distracted by our sometimes lengthy at-bats. Now, we can look forward to turning our season around as we return to Channel League play.”
The Dons, who finished 2-2 in the tournament and come home with a 4-11 overall record, play again next Saturday at Sierra Canyon in the Chatsworth Tournament.
Santa Barbara…103 209 — 15 8 1
Ridgewood, Ill.…000 000 — 0 4 5
Piozet and Craig; Wagner, Vitale (4), DeVivo (5), Trevino (5) and Owens, Tsagaris (6), DeVivo (6).
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.