COLLEGE BASEBALL / CHANNEL COAST TOURNAMENT : Even Oxnard’s 3-1 Defeat Is Eventful

In two previous Channel Coast tournament games this week, Oxnard College was involved in some rare developments.

The Condors were at it again Thursday in a semifinal game at Moorpark College.

For 8 2/3 innings, Oxnard could not muster a hit off Rancho Santiago right-hander Jason Dietrich. Then Pat Queenen hit a fastball over the left-field fence.

However, the Dons hung on to beat Oxnard, 3-1, moving Rancho Santiago (22-5), ranked No. 2 in the state, into the championship game today against Ventura.

For Oxnard (8-20), it was another unusual game in what has been an extraordinary week.

In the first round Tuesday, the Condors and Citrus played to a 9-9 tie, but Oxnard advanced on a coin flip. And Wednesday, Oxnard upset highly regarded Mission, 4-3, in 11 innings despite hitting into two triple plays.

“It has been an eventful week with some strange things (happening),” Oxnard Coach Chris Stevens said.

There was nothing strange about the way Dietrich mowed down the Condors. The sophomore combined mainly a sharp fastball with occasional curves to baffle Oxnard.

Dietrich (6-1) struck out Nick Frank to start the game and then walked Rich Tepezano. That was the bulk of the Condor offense until Frank walked with two out in the sixth inning. In between, Dietrich retired 16 consecutive batters, nine on strikeouts. He finished with 12 strikeouts and walked three.

The closest thing to an Oxnard hit before the homer came in the seventh, when cleanup hitter Ralph Guillen hit a fly ball that Matt Kastelic caught on the warning track in left field.

In the ninth, Dietrich got Adrian Estrada on a grounder to shortstop and Guillen on a shallow fly to center field before Queenen connected on a 1-and-0 count.

“It was a fastball a little high and inside and he turned on it,” Dietrich said.

Right-hander Steve Thobe got the last out for his fifth save.

Thobe also contributed with the bat, knocking in Rancho Santiago’s third run with a sacrifice fly while pinch-hitting for designated hitter Kyle Ritter in the eighth.

The Dons scored their first two runs in the second inning off right-hander Paul Taylor (2-3), who went the distance.

First baseman Chris Richardson, who went two for three with a double, led off the inning with a single to right and Derek Brown followed with a single to center that sent Richardson to third. Ritter grounded to first, driving in Richardson, and Kastelic squeezed home Brown.

Oxnard played solid defense and kept the Dons from scoring after Rancho Santiago put runners at second and third with none out in the seventh. With the Oxnard infield drawn in, Taylor retired David Gonzalez on a grounder to third and Ryan Andersen on a grounder to short. Then he got catcher Darren Troilo on a fly to center.

Ventura 6, Santa Barbara 3--Pitcher Tighe Curran (4-5) went eight innings, scattered five hits and struck out nine to help Ventura (13-13) reach today’s final against Rancho Santiago.

Mike Muncy had two hits, including a two-out triple in the fifth inning that put the Pirates ahead for good, 4-3. It extended his hitting streak to a school-record 20 games, breaking the mark of 19 set by Kevin French in 1987.

Moorpark 5, Mission 4--Aaron Fischer went three for three with a solo home run in the fourth to lead the Raiders (13-16) past Mission (20-9).

Moorpark will face Santa Barbara today for third place.

Moorpark led, 2-0, after Fischer’s homer. Mission scored a run in the fifth. After the Raiders increased their lead to 5-1 with three runs in the eighth, Mission came up short with three in the ninth.

Brad Taylor (1-2) worked seven innings to pick up his first victory and allowed four hits and an unearned run.

Brian Vasey and Darryl Hernandez both went two for three for Moorpark.