Onxard Gets Shuts Down, Knocked Out by Harbor, 3-1

Pat Woods, Oxnard College baseball coach, and third baseman Raudel Flores embraced and consoled each other on the left-field foul line, just on the outskirts of the infield.

Their season over after a 3-1 loss to Harbor in a Southern California regional playoff game Saturday, the sophomore from Hueneme High and the first-year skipper patted each other on the back and tried to deal with the emotions.

“This team was one of the toughest teams I’ve ever been a part of,” Woods said. “This team was pretty amazing. We overachieved from the beginning.”

The Condors (31-10) went into the best-of-three series with Harbor (28-14) full of high hopes and expectations. They had won the Western State Conference North Division title and were making their first playoff appearance since 1988, this time seeded third.

But they ran into a Harbor team that, although seeded 14th, finished tied for third place in the competitive South Coast Conference, one game behind co-champions Long Beach City and Mt. San Antonio.

The Seahawks proved they were no pushovers, eliminating Oxnard in two games and advancing to next weekend’s second round. Harbor did it with superb pitching that limited the Condors to two runs in 18 innings.

Right-hander Arin McCarthy (8-3) took care of the Condors on Saturday, giving up six singles, striking out seven and walking one in 6 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow a runner past second base until Mike Muller scored with one out in the seventh.

By then, the Seahawks had given McCarthy a 3-0 cushion, scoring single runs in the first, third and fifth innings against right-hander Ray Clinton (10-3).

“[Clinton] pitched well enough to win,” said Tony Bloomfield, Harbor coach.

Clinton, who was instrumental in helping the Condors to their most successful season, yielded nine hits, struck out five and walked three in eight innings.

Harbor, playing as the home team, jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Steve Rawson’s single that scored Kendrick Wallace.

Rawson, who was three for four, scored in the third after drilling a two-out double off the center-field fence and coming home on Sterling Bullock’s single to center.

The Seahawks scored in the fifth on a two-out single by Mike Poor that drove in Derek Nicholson.

The Condors wasted their best opportunity in the seventh when McCarthy was lifted with one out and runners at first and second.

Jess Olivares greeted reliever Justin Miller with a single to right that scored Muller, who had led off with a single. Erik Farias followed with a single to load the bases but Matt Buttell smashed a one-hopper to Miller, who turned it into an inning-ending double play.

“If that ball goes over the pitcher’s head, we tie it,” Woods said. “This game is pretty cruel sometimes.”