BOX SCORE
The Sheps fall to the league leading Ventura County Pirates by the score of 7-3. With the win, the Pirates clinched 1st place for the playoffs as the Shepherds are fighting for fourth place heading into the final game of the season.
Brenden Coffindaffer started the second with a lead-off double before advancing to third and eventually home on two wild pitches to give the Sheps the lead. Joey Scotvold continued the scoring in the second as a single over the first baseman's head scored two and extended the lead to three. Four hits and a walk in the second gave the Sheps a 3-0 lead.
A bases loaded single gets the Pirates on the board with a run before a fielder's choice scored another. A grand slam two batters later would flip the game on its head and give the pirates a six run inning and the 6-3 lead.
After the second, the pitching took control as four straight scoreless innings were recorded after the nine run inning. Sam Mueller settled in for the Sheps after the crooked inning and got nine outs before Tomas Lopez relieved him.
Lopez struck out the side in the sixth before giving up a run in the seventh striking out five batters in three innings.
The Pirates would break the drought in the seventh with a two-out RBI single to score a runner from third and extend their lead to 4 and make it 7-3.
The Pirates wouldn't allow a run for the eighth or ninth inning as they pitched seven straight scoreless innings and secured the win and the first seed.
The Shepherds have their last regular season game tomorrow at Cal Poly Pomona against the Inland Valley Pirates with first pitch coming at 4:30 PM. 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)