Bucs Too Much, Sheps Drop Tight One 9-6

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had another league game versus the Ventura County Pirates on Tuesday evening. The Pirates had won both meetings before today and looked to clinch the season series by winning the third of five games.

 Max Montplaisir started on the bump and had really good stuff early on keeping Pirates’ hitters off balance. Unfortunately for Montplaisir, balls were falling for the Pirates as seemingly every time they made contact, the baseball found a hole. Monty threw 4.0 innings in which he gave up five earned runs on nine hits. Alex Escobar came in relief of Montplaisir and put up a valiant effort throwing 5.0 innings and only allowing two earned runs.

 At the plate, the offense had a fairly productive day scoring six runs on nine hits, headlined by Connor Aldrich who went 3-3 with two singles, one double, and four RBI’s in four plate appearances. The Pirate offense, who sits atop the league in runs scored per game, was just too much for the Shepherds to hang with today. Fortunately, the Sheps will get another shot at the Pirates tomorrow evening and will look to avenge tonight’s loss.

 Derek Potts  (2-2) picked up the win and Alex Escobar (0-2) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Gabe Falcone went 1-4 with an RBI single

-       Simms Owens went 1-4 with a single and walk

-       Jackson LoBianco went 2-5 and scored two runs

-       Emry Jackson went 1-3 with an RBI single and a walk

-       Max Montplaisir struck out six batters in 4 IP

Quote from Connor Aldrich

"I think we just come back tomorrow with the same drive we had today. You know, sometimes baseball happens and that’s what happened today. You lose some tough ones and I just think we’re gonna come out tomorrow with the same attitude and effort and hopefully come out on the other side of things.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game against the Ventura County Pirates tomorrow at 4:30 PM PST. The game will be played at LA Valley College  and will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

OFFENSE EXPLODES, SHEPS DOMINATE 11-5

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had the rubber match against the Long Beach Legends on Monday evening as the series was tied 2-2 heading into today. The teams have made a habit of tight games with none being decided by more than 2 runs.

 Andrew Sutherland started the game on the bump which gave reason for confidence as his last start in which he threw 8 shutout innings came against the same Legends team. Early on, it looked like Sutherland and the Sheps may coast to a stress-free victory as the score after three innings was 3-0. The Legends did not oblige, responding with two in the fourth and three in the sixth to take a one run lead. The Shepherds were quick to reply with another run in the bottom half of the sixth to tie things up 5-5.

 After a masterful pitching performance from reliever Teagan Disharoon in the sixth and seventh innings, the ball was handed over to Jackson LoBianco who got out of a bases loaded jam to head into the bottom half of the inning still tied 5-5. This was setting up to be an epic season finale between the Legends and Shepherds who had fought in close, often low scoring games up to this point. One would reasonably expect a dramatic finish ending in a score of 6-5 or something similar as has been customary all season long.

 The Sheps showed no interest in a dramatic finish. The rally began with Jackson LoBianco hitting his first homerun on the season in the form of an absolute missile over the left field wall making the score 6-5. And then a few walks and hits later, the score was 11-5 all but securing the series victory and putting the Sheps back into playoff contention.

 Jackson LoBianco (1-1) picked up the win and Garrett Gladney (0-1) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Simms Owens went 2-4 with a double, triple, and 3 RBI’s

-       Connor Aldrich went 1-3 with an RBI single and 2 walks

-       Jackson LoBianco went 2-3 with the go ahead solo HR

-       Gabe Falcone went 2-3 with a single and RBI double

-       Jackson Van Ness went 1-1 with an RBI single

-       Kaiden Zacharias went 1-3 with an RBI single

-       The team had a batting average of .323 on the game

-       Teagan Disharoon threw 2.0 shutout innings with 4 K’s

-       Jackson LoBianco threw 2.0 shutout innings with 3 K’s

Quote from Center Fielder, Simms Owens

When asked about how to carry the momentum into the rest of the season: “We just gotta keep the energy up in the dugout, stay together as a team, start off early, come out hot, and score a couple runs in the beginning of the game. That’s it, we just gotta come out hot.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game against the Ventura County Pirates tomorrow at 4:30 PM PST. The game will be played at Whittier Christian High School and will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Sheps unable to match Pirates, Lose 6-2

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had their second game in as many days on Sunday afternoon versus the Inland Valley Pirates. The series going into today was tied at 1-1 as both teams looked to take the season series lead. The Sheps called upon Andrew White to start the game from the bump.

 White provided a strong start through 4.0 innings giving up just 1 earned run, but unfortunately his outing was cut short by an injury. Head coach, Mike Creason, explained that after a long week of camp White didn't have his legs under him and felt that it was better to be safe than sorry to avoid any injury. As a result, the bullpen had to work extended innings, hampering the team’s chances of coming away with a win. Regardless of the pitching staff’s performance, the bats were not up to the challenge that Pirates pitcher, AJ Moreno, presented as he was able to keep the Sheps quiet giving up just 1 run on 3 hits in 7.0 innings.

 Looking ahead, the Sheps must find energy as they are in the home stretch of their season and have six more games in the next eight days. If they hope to make the top four in the Best of the West and challenge for the league crown, the Shepherds have to get their legs under them and find more consistency down the stretch. Todays game gives the Pirates their eleventh straight win as they remain undefeated in the month of July.

 AJ Moreno (1-0) picked up the win and Andrew White (3-3) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Andrew White allowed just 1 ER in 4 IP

-       Jake Washburn and Jackson LoBianco each threw 1.0 shutout inning of relief

-       Jamie LaFramboise went 1-4 with an RBI single

-       Emry Jackson went 1 for 3 with an RBI single and a walk

-       Jake Lopez went 1-3 with a single

-       Connor Aldrich went 1-4 with a single

Quote from head coach, Mike Creason

“What we need to do is start a little bit faster. I think we do pretty well in the middle and at the end of games scoring runs but I just think we got to start a little bit faster. We get some opportunities, but early for some reason we just never come up with the big hit. If we can do that and gain momentum early than that would help us close in on some of these games. I think that’s somewhat of a difference that we did early last week and during that stretch when we were winning some games and we just need to get back to that for tomorrow.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game against the Long Beach Legends tomorrow at 4:30 PM PST. The game will be played at Whittier Christian High School and will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Mistakes prove costly, Sheps lose 9-7

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LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds started up Sunset League play again versus the Inland Valley Buccaneers after a long week of camp ended on Friday evening.  These two teams know each other well having played 3 games before today. After a lopsided 17-2 loss in their first game, the Sheps had taken the last two games by the scores of 8-7 and 10-3. Roy Washburn started the game on the bump for the Sheps as he looked to continue his consistent play.

Early in the game, errors plagued the Sheps as they gave up two unearned runs through the first five innings. These errors also cost Washburn the chance of logging a quality, extended start as he has been accustomed to doing this season. The offense has been much improved across the last 4 games scoring 33 runs compared to just 17 runs in all other regular season games.  The team competed at the plate putting 7 runs up and fighting back from a deficit multiple times throughout the game, but were unable to overcome the mistakes made early on.

 Caleb Bennet (1-0) picked up the win and Roy Washburn (2-3) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Joey Scotvold went 2-4 recording his first home run of the season with 3 RBI’s

-       Jake Lopez went 1-2 hitting his first homerun bringing in 2 RBI’s

-       Connor Aldrich 1-3, 2B, RBI Sac fly

-       Shepherd hitters drew 9 walks

Quote from Joey Scotvold

“We just gotta do the little things right. Limit the mistakes, limit the errors, and I think we’ll be fine. Right now I feel like we’re playing our best baseball which is what you want late in the season and I feel like we’re just gonna keep rolling.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game against the Inland Valley Pirates tomorrow at 1 PM PST. The game will be played at Whittier Christian High School and will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Sheps Eyeing Playoff Spot, Dominate Bucs 10-3

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had another game versus the Inland Valley Bucs on Sunday afternoon. The two teams played in a thrilling game just a few days ago when the Sheps pulled off an unlikely comeback, scoring seven unanswered to win 8-7 on Thursday night. The follow up to this game was much anticipated as tensions ran high on both sides in Thursdays game. Unfortunately for the Bucs, The Shepherds did not have any interest in keeping this game close. Andrew White started on the mound and threw 4.0 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, and striking out six. After White exited, the bullpen carried the Sheps to the victory.

The offense produced their highest scoring game of the season and the Shepherds put together a complete performance ending in a second straight win over the Bucs and the fourth win in a row at Whittier Christian High School. After tacking on a couple runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, Simms Owens opened the game up by hitting a triple ball on a line to right center driving in two runs and then was brought in from third by a single from Jamie LaFramboise. The bullpen kept the Bucs bats at bay, but they were within striking distance for the majority of the game. That was until the 9th inning when the Shepherds decided enough was enough and threw up a five spot that all but ended any chance the Bucs had at a comeback. With the win, the Sheps are now in position to make the league playoffs if the season were to end today which didn’t look like it would be possible early in the season.

 Andrew White (3-2) picked up the win and Connor McKinney (0-1) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Jamie Laframboise 1 SB, 1 RBI, 2 R

-       Kaiden Zacharias went 2-3 with 1 double and 1 single

-       Nathan Weatherly went 2-4 with a single, double, and an RBI

-       Jackson LoBianco went 2-3 with 2 base hits, 2 walks, 2 stolen bases, and 1 RBI

-       Andrew White picked up 6 K’s taking the team lead with 25 on the season

-       Sam Murphy picked up 3 K’s in his 1.0 inning of relief

-       Gabe Jackson threw 2.0 shutout innings of relief

-       The team hit .325 on the game with 13 hits and drew 7 walks

Quote from Nathan “Moose” Weatherly

“Feels really good, the Bucs are a really good team so beating them like that is no joke. So it feels great to be on the other side of some of those games at this point in the season, I’m super happy for the boys and I couldn’t have done it without them. Even though I have been struggling at the plate it’s been good to produce behind the plate defensively for the boys and I’m super proud of the guys.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have a week off of games as they have their 3rd camp this summer at Whittier Christian High School. The team will return to action on Saturday July 17th at Whittier Christian High School. All games are live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Sheps Comeback Falls Short

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had their fourth game versus the Long Beach Legends on Friday evening at La Quinta High School. The Sheps had won two of three coming into the game and hoped to take another in the five game season series. Roy Washburn took the bump and looked to repeat his last two starts as he had only given up 4 earned runs in his last 15.0 innings pitched.

The game looked to be going in the Shepherds favor after taking an early 3-2 lead and then added to it with a three run homerun from Cayd Katnik in the top of the 6th inning. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the 7th inning the Legends unloaded and put up a five-spot which they followed up by tacking another two on to their lead in the 8th making the score 9-6 in favor of the Legends.

The Shepherds made a strong comeback effort putting up two runs in the top of the 9th to get within one of the lead with 2 runners in scoring position but were unable to capitalize and fell 9-8. Regardless, the Sheps have won three of their last five and are peaking at the right time.

Michael Flaherty (3-0) picked up the win and Roy Washburn (2-2) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Jamie Laframboise went 2-3 and reached base 4 times

-       LaFramboise also stole 3 bases in the game

-       Cayd Katnik went 1-2 hitting the first regular season home run for the Sheps

-       Katnik recorded 4 RBI’s on the game

-       Joey Scotvold went 2-4 with 2 singles

-       Connor Aldrich went 2-4 with 2 RBI’s

Quote from Cade Katnik

When asked about what the team can take away from this game: “Take that dog fight, start from the beginning, and keep it rolling all game. We just need to keep it going, carry that fight over, and try to not give up the big inning. Two hits changed the game from their side (that led to) the big inning.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have an off day tomorrow before returning to action on Sunday, July 11th, versus the Inland Valley Buccaneers at 1:00 pm PST. The game will be played at Whittier Christian High School live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Sheps Rally and Walk it Off to Win 8-7

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had their fourth league game in six days against the Inland Valley Bucs on Thursday afternoon. They had won two of their last three coming into today and looked to stay hot and win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Max Montplaisir was the Sheps starting pitcher and hoped to set the tone from the bump.

The Shepherds got off to a quick start scoring one in the 1st and shutting out the Bucs in the first two innings. The momentum built in the first two innings came to a screeching halt when the Bucs had a five-run outburst in the top of the 3rd inning and tacked on another two in the top of the 4th making the score 7-1. At this point, Montplaisir was taken out of the game as things seemed to be unraveling. Memories from just eleven days earlier when the same Bucs team dismantled the Shepherds 17-2 must have flooded the minds of every player for both teams.

Enter, Emry Jackson. The reliever came in and stopped the bleeding immediately and stunned Buccaneer hitters by throwing 4.33 shutout innings and giving the Shepherds a fighting chance to mount a comeback. The Shepherds responded by scoring one in the 5th, three in the 6th, two in the 7th, and one in the 9th for a total of seven unanswered runs that ended with a walk off single from catcher Joel Cervantes to seal the victory in the bottom of the 9th.

Andrew White (2-2) picked up the win and Julian Valenzuela (0-1) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Emry Jackson pitched 4.33 shutout innings giving up just 3 hits

-       Andrew White closed the game in the 9th and earned his 2nd win

-       Connor Aldrich went 3-5 with 2 singles, a double, and 3 RBI’s

-       Simms Owens went 2-4 with a single, double, and drawing a walk

-       Emry Jackson went 2-5 with 2 singles

-       Joel Cervantes drove in 2 RBI’s including the game winner

-       Jake Lopez went 1-1 with an RBI single

-       The Shepherds defense committed 0 errors for the second consecutive game

Quote from Joel Cervantes

“Honestly, it was hard to see because of the dark but we got it done! It felt good to be able to help the team out with a win where we came back from a pretty tough score and it felt really good to win this one.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game tomorrow, July 9th, versus the Long Beach Legends at 4:30 pm PST. The game will be played at La Quinta High School and will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

GO DAWGS!

Sutherland Throws Gem, Sheps Win 1-0

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had their second game versus the Long Beach Legends in just five days on Wednesday evening. The Sheps won the first bout on Saturday by the score of 5-3 using timely hitting and solid pitching to secure the victory. Andrew Sutherland took the bump who looked to pick up a quality start and propel the Shepherds to a second straight home victory.

From the start, Sutherland was able to control the game by pounding the zone and forcing Legends batters to make soft contact allowing the defense to make plays. Throwing 8.0 innings with no runs and only 2 hits given up, Sutherland set the tone from the bump and gave the team confidence to complete their second home victory in a row.

 At the plate, the Sheps were able to hit the ball hard all game with many going straight to Legend’s fielders but were able to breakthrough in the 4th inning with back-to-back doubles from Jamie LaFramboise and Connor Aldrich, scoring one run.

 Andrew Sutherland (1-1) picked up the win and Martin Najera (0-2) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Andrew Sutherland’s shutout lowered his ERA to 2.70

-       Jamie LaFramboise went 1 for 3 and scored the lone run of the game

-       Connor Aldrich went 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a single

-       Andrew White went 2 for 2

-       Jackson LoBianco earned his 2nd save on the season

-       Simms Owens recorded 7 putouts from center field

-       The Shepherds defense committed 0 errors

Quote from Andrew Sutherland

When asked about today’s outing: “I think first of all, great defense today. We did a great job of keeping them off balance by just trying to stay around the zone and not try to do to much. Again, just a stellar performance by the defense, ground balls and fly balls, every play was made and we held it down out there which was great.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game tomorrow, July 8th, versus the Inland Valley Buccaneers at 4:30 pm PST. The game will be played at Whittier Christian High School live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Sheps fall flat, lose 6-1

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had another Sunset league game versus the Inland Valley Pirates on Monday evening. With Andrew White taking the bump, the Sheps looked to start their first winning streak of the season following their win this past weekend.

 White grinded through 4.0 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 earned runs before the bullpen was called upon in relieve. The pen was unable to stop the bleeding giving up 3 additional runs while the bats were just unable to get much going at the plate. The offense scattered 8 hits over the game and pushed only one run across.

 Jaden Agassi (1-1) picked up the win and Andrew White (1-2) was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Andrew White recorded 4 strikeouts

-       Emry Jackson went 2 for 3 with 2 singles and a walk

-       Joel Cervantes made his debut at catcher went 1 for 3 with a single

-       Joey Scotvold went 1 for 2 with a single and a walk

-       Cayden Katnik recorded his 1st hit of regular season going 1 for 2  

-       Andrew White K’s 4 and only allows 4 hits in 4.2 IP

Quote from Joel Cervantes

“I can contribute by being a good catcher to the pitchers. They all were happy throwing to me today and they all let me know that. I feel like how we could get better as a team is maybe by throwing more first pitch strikes, by getting those big moment hits, and stuff like that.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game versus the Long Beach Legends at 4:30 pm PST. The game will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).

Offense Comes Alive, Sheps Win 5-3

BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, California- Lance Smith

The Shepherds had their first game back after a week of camp and got things started against the Long Beach Legends on Saturday afternoon. Roy Washburn took the mound and looked to continue his consistent play as he came into the game boasting a 1.80 ERA.

 The theme of the season for the Sheps has been a lack of timely hitting and therefore little production at the plate. This could not have been more evident in the first 5 innings of today’s game as the Shepherds left a number of runners on base and it looked like it may end up being same song, different verse.

 That was until the bottom of the 6th inning when Emry Jackson hit a leadoff double and the offense came alive. After Jackson, the offense loaded the bases with just 1 out and Gabe Falcone up at the plate. Falcone went down 2 strikes before rocketing a fastball into left field for a ground rule double, driving in 2 runs. The offense continued to roll tacking on 2 more runs in the 6th and then adding another in the 8th heading into the 9th needing just 3 more outs to secure the victory.

 With the offense finding their way, the Sheps looked to Roy Washburn to stymie the Legends offense. Washburn pitched masterfully giving up 6 hits and just 2 runs in 7.0 IP. Gabe Jackson was called upon in the 8th inning to relieve Washburn and closed the door on the Legends sealing a victory for the Shepherds.  

 Roy Washburn (2-1) picked up the win and Travis Behrens (1-1)  was tacked with the loss.

Notes

-       Roy Washburn recorded a season high 9 strikeouts

-       Gabe Jackson earned his first save of the season while maintaining his 0.00 ERA

-       Both pitchers combined for a .735 first strike %

-       The defense came back into form only committing 1 error

-       Nathan Weatherly threw out one runner from behind the plate

-       Simms Owens was hit by the pitch twice and leads the team in HBP with 4 total.

-       The team combined for 10 total hits, a regular season high.

Quote from Gabe Falcone

“You know, it’s summer ball. We just gotta come out here, have fun, and stop thinking so much. We just gotta go out there, swing, and throw the ball. We just need to have fun out there and I think we had fun today so we just gotta keep that going.”

What’s next

The Shepherds have another league game on Monday, the 5th versus the Inland Valley Pirates at 6 pm PST. The game will be live streamed on the Shepherds Facebook page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/socalfcabaseball/. To stay up to date on all things Shepherds baseball follow us on Instagram (@shepherds_baseball), Twitter (@SoCalShpherds), and Facebook (Southern California FCA Baseball).