Debut Is Twice as Nice for Ventura in Sweep of Bakersfield

Two weeks ago in the College World Series, Carlos Diaz was playing in front of more than 10,000 boisterous fans.

“They were as wild as football fans,” said Diaz, who was a catcher for Oklahoma State.

On Sunday, Diaz played in front of a sleepy gathering of 1,169 at Ventura College. But the second game of the Ventura County Gulls’ 7-5, 5-3 sweep of the Bakersfield Dodgers held special importance for Diaz--it was his professional debut.

And, fittingly, it marked several firsts for the newest Gull.

The first Bakersfield baserunner attempted to steal second and became the first to be thrown out by Diaz. In his first at-bat, Diaz doubled off the left-field fence and later scored the first run of his professional career.

About the only first Diaz lacks now is the first-string catching job. Greg Myers, who is batting over .300 and has 11 home runs, has earned that distinction.

It was probably coincidence, but the pitcher Diaz caught, Hugh Brinson, had his best outing of the season. Brinson (3-3) pitched five shutout innings, striking out nine. Mark Dickman allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning before William Shanks came on for his 10th save.

Three hits and three runs by Eric Yelding and three hits and two runs batted in by Luis Reyna powered the Gulls in the first game. Dave Walsh (2-2) allowed only three hits over five innings in the opener before Todd Provence came on for his second save.

Bakersfield starting pitcher Andreas Mena went the entire first game, allowing 12 hits. John Wetteland, who started the second game for the Dodgers, saw his record drop to 0-6.