Baseball enters the final round of Western State Conference play atop the circuit's standings after completing a three-game sweep over Oxnard this week. The Cougars opened their series against the Condors with a pair of wins, 10-6 and 3-1, but had to hold off a 9th inning rally by the Condors to run the table, 10-8. Cuesta Starter and winning pitcher Luigi Albano-Dito went only five innings, without allowing an earned run, and handed a 10-2 to lead the bullpen in the 6th inning. Relievers Conner Inman and Kade Walker were both perfect in the 6th and 7th, respectively, however Oxnard made its move after the stretch. The Condors collected seven of their ten hits and added of two hit batsmen, a walk and two Cuesta errors, while scoring six more runs, before the Cougars secured the final out, while the bases were loaded. Freshman Southpaw Robinson Lardner earned his second Save of the year by securing the final out and preserving Albano-Dito's winning decision.
In the game, the Condors out-hit Cuesta, 10-8, but seven of the Cougars' starters collected a hit in the contest, including Shortstop Victor Heredia, who went 2-for-4 day with a run scored and one driven in. Catcher Dalton Cram was also a major factor on offense, Cram drove in a game-high three runs, one on a sacrifice fly in the 1st and two-more with a double in the 4th. All-WSC Centerfielder Ethan Royal was on the bases all day, with a double and two walks, and scored all three of his game-high three runs in the first four innings. The victory allowed the Cougars to reach the 20-win mark for sixth time in the past seven full seasons. The Cougars are 20-12-1 and have six games left on their regular season schedule. Next week they host Santa Barbara on Tuesday (2:30), before hitting the road to play at Ventura on Thursday (2:30) and in Santa Maria against Allan Hancock on Saturday (1 PM). The Cougars are the defending WSC Champions, however only Oxnard enters the last six games of the season without a shot at the loop's crown and an automatic playoff berth.
