For the first time in 35 years, the Vaqueros can refer to themselves as the Western State Conference North Division champs after defeating Oxnard 7-5 on Saturday, putting them into the Southern California Regional Tournament.
Brian Buck’s seventh-inning-blast over the center field wall put the Vaqs on top, 6-4. After falling behind 1-2, sophomore Buck worked the count full before grabbing his third and fourth RBI of the game.
“I knew they weren’t going to beat me with a fastball, so I sat off-speed and ended up capitalizing on the hanging breaking balls,” Buck said.
The home run was Buck’s second of the day, both of which he hit with two strikes in the count.
Pitcher Bryce Uhrig, who leads the state in wins, grabbed his 13th victory of the season, losing only once. Uhrig gave up five runs, six hits, and struck out five in seven innings. The win added to Uhrig’s school record and was the 11th win in a row for the Vaqueros,(32-7, 18-4). But to say it started off peachy for Uhrig and the Vaqs would be quite an understatement.
The freshman’s first pitch of the game plunked Oxnard’s lead-off hitter who later scored on an error. City College quickly found itself behind two runs, but would not be flustered by the deficit.
Second baseman Steve Cook hit a screaming homer in the second, followed by Buck’s first home run in the third to give the Vaqs a 3-2 lead. Oxnard answered in the sixth with two home runs of their own. The Condors’ shot nearly took up vacancy at the hotel across the Castillo street. After Buck’s impressive display in the seventh, pitchers Danny Graybill and Vinnie Agapito shut down Oxnard in the eight and ninth innings.
“It’s gonna take a good team effort to bring us down, and I don’t see that happening,” Buck said.
Agapito earned a City College record with his eighth save, prompting the team to instantly dog-pile sophomore catcher Steve Klein.
“Vinnie went through the fire last year,” said coach Teddy Warrecker freshly drenched in Gatorade. “We put him in every single tough situation as a freshman and he didn’t crack under that. Vinnie has the perfect mentality for a closer. He’s not afraid to throw strikes.”
After going 7-18 in the conference last year, the Vaqs 18 conference wins and 32 overall wins added to their growing school record. Warrecker said the incredible turnaround did not surprise him. When asked if he will do anything differently in the three remaining games he said firmly: “No. Absolutely not, we need to finish as strongly as we can.”
The Vaqueros will play their first regional game on May 12, and will most likely play against Pierce College who is in position to win the South Division.
-Cliff Weber is a Journalism 101 student
