The So-Cal Shepherds splits double header against the Inland Valley Pirates. The Shepheds lost the first game 9-3 before earning a thrilling comeback win in the second game 7-6. This moves the Shepherds record to 2-1 while the Inland Valley Pirates are now 4-1 including 3 wins against conference opponents.
Starting pitcher Jackson LoBianco Highlighted the second game for the shepherds throwing 5 innings with 4 strikeouts, one walk and one earned run. However, our player of the game is KJ Moo-Young who had a clutch game tying triple and a running catch, crashing into the wall.
The Shepherds struggled offensively as they only got 3 hits in the first game but picked it up a in the second game with eight hits, including two homeruns.
The Pirates got the scoring started early in the first game as they scored two runs on two hits and two errors in the top of the first to capture the lead before the Sheps got a chance at the plate.
The Pirates were able to add on to their lead in the top of the third after an RBI single, Sacrifice fly and an error made by the Shepherds catcher on a throw down to second which plated three more runs to make it 5-0.
They would continue to shut down the Shepherds and get runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth to extend their lead to 8-0.
The shepherds broke free in the bottom of the sixth and were able to get a run from a Drew Salyers single down the left field line, scoring Shane Poe from second to cut the lead to seven.
Both teams scored in the seventh, with the Pirates scoring one and the Shepherds scoring two to end the first game with the final score of 9-3.
In the second game, the pirates struck early again as they scored two runs in the first inning, just as they did in the first game.
Brandon Adams took a ball deep to the opposite field in the bottom of the 3rd to open the scoring for the shepherds and to cut the lead in half. The solo shot flew over the right feild fence to make it a 2-1 score. The Sheps tied the game the next inning as Andrew Lujan doubled, then stole third and went home after an error on the throw to third.
The Pirates would retake the lead as RBI singles in the 6th and 7th would extend their lead and make the score 4-2, a much lower score than either of these teams are used to.
However, Aaron Zubiate took a ball deep over the right field wall to cut the Pirates lead in half again and to keep the Shepherds in the game.The Shepherds would take advantage in the very next inning as KJ Moo-Young got an RBI triple to score JP Hefft from first to tie the game. Shane Poe and Rhett Stein would both follow with RBI singles before a sacrifice fly would score the Shepherds fourth run of the inning.
The Pirates blasted another ball over the right field wall for a solo homerun and scored another but fell just short as the Shepherds scraped by and won by the score of 7-6.
The Sheps are back in action this Saturday against the Inland Valley Bucs at 1 PM at La Habra High School. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball) and our new Tiktok (@Shepherdsbaseball).