Moses Dokes hit a walk-off two-run homer in the seventh inning to give Santa Barbara High a 6-5 win over Saugus in the baseball season opener for both teams at Eddie Mathews Field on Saturday.
Dokes belted his game winner over the left-field fence.
Vince Gamberdella and Luke Wechsler had impressive varsity debuts for the Dons. Gamberdella had two hits and a RBI and Wechsler pitched the last three innings, allowing three hits and no runs.
“Though our play was up and down, I was really happy to see them compete for all seven innings,” Santa Barbara coach Steve Schuck said of the team’s first-game performance. “It would have been really easy to pack it in after some of the mistakes we made. The bench was locked in on trying to find tendencies and any tells. It was a complete team win.”
Senior catcher Anthony Firestone had good day all around, collecting two hits and throwing out two runners trying to steal. Ty Montgomery had a double, Nick Oakley and Jordan Harris were on base two times and Bryce Warrecker, just a few hours after playing in a CIF basketball game in Hesperia, collected a hit and drew a pair of walks.
Carter Park started for the Dons and pitched four inings. He allowed five runs (two earned) and five hits and struck out six.
“His defense let him down a little but he kept his composure and kept us in the game,” said Schuck.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.