Hueneme Staggers to Fourth Straight Win, 7-5

The Hueneme High baseball team just keeps coming.

On Friday, the Vikings came from ahead, then from behind to defeat Buena, 7-5, in a key Channel League game at Buena.

Hueneme (10-10, 6-4 in league play), with its fourth consecutive win, moved into a third-place tie with Buena (13-5, 6-4), ranked seventh in the Times’ area poll.

On Tuesday, the Vikings handed first-place San Marcos its first league loss with a 4-2 win at home.

Against Buena, Hueneme squandered a 4-2 lead in the second inning, then rallied for two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to hand the Bulldogs their first loss at home this season.

“It’s good to be playing well right now,” Hueneme Coach Reg Welker said. “I don’t know if we’ve peaked, but I hope not. I’m really excited about these guys.”

Welker spent much of the afternoon pacing the dugout while barking encouragement to three shaky pitchers.

Sophomore left-hander Chris Gundrum lasted all of two batters before being replaced by senior right-hander Ricardo Garcia.

In the fourth, Garcia was replaced by senior right-hander Jess Olivares (2-2), who was tagged for three runs that gave Buena its first lead, 5-4.

However, Olivares (2-2) settled down and unsettled Buena by retiring the final 10 batters he faced, four on strikeouts.

“I was just trying not to overthrow,” Olivares said.

Olivares’ efforts overshadowed those of Buena senior right-hander Brandon Knight, who started the game at second base but struck out six over the final 2 1/3 innings, including the side in the seventh. Knight also had two doubles and a single in four at-bats.

Run-scoring singles by Juan Ponce and Julian Barajas off junior left-hander Mark Stehle (2-2) in the fifth gave Hueneme the lead for good. Robert Ralston added a run-scoring single in the sixth.

The victory earned Hueneme a split of the season’s two games with Buena. Four games remain. In the event of a third-place tie, a playoff game would be played the day after the final game of the season, Welker said.