By Ray Conner
The Kern Valley varsity baseball team collected a pair of wins in league play conclude the week in second place.
They currently sit in second place one-half game ahead of Cal City. The Broncs sit at 7-3, while Cal City is at 6-3. They both trail Bishop who is at 9-0.
Their latest conquests came on the road over Mammoth on their home field against Boron. Versus Mammoth, Kern Valley used a five-run third to open up a big lead and they never looked back. The Broncs had a 2-0 cushion after two innings of action. They came to bat in the third and produced five runs to break open the game. Eight Broncs came to the plate in the inning. The big blow came off the bat of Seth Stockwell. With the bases loaded, Stockwell connected on the pitch to drive it over the fence for a grand slam home run.
The game was never in doubt after that. Kern Valley added a run in the fourth, three more in the sixth and finished with two more in the seventh. The Huskies had seven fielding miscues that helped the Broncs take home the win. The final score saw the Broncs earn the 13-4 victory.
S. Stockwell drove in six runs in the game to lead Kern Valley. Beside the grand “salami”, he hit a two-run round tripper in the second inning to give the Broncs their 2-0 margin. Jordan Mead had two hits and an RBI, while Carson Strange delivered a pair of hits. Zack Wargo tripled for his lone hit, while Ethan Stockwell contributed one hit. Cameron Thomas and Chris Lopez each recorded an RBI for Kern Valley.
On the hill, Wargo (5-4) was credited with the win. He went five innings allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out eight. S. Stockwell came on to relieve, tossing two innings to earn his first save of the year. He gave up one unearned run, one hit, and did not issue any free passes. He would set down four Huskies on strikes.
The Boron game proved to be a whole other ball game, literally. Both pitchers took control and battled to earn the win. Kern Valley came out on top as they won the game 3-0.
The Broncs were able to score one run each in three different innings to give them enough runs to claim the contest. Kern Valley opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second. Wargo led off the inning with a single. He swiped second to get into scoring position. Strange singled to put runners at the corner. Boron’s pitcher was charged with a wild pitch and Wargo crossed the plate with the run. The Broncs had the bases loaded and looking for more, but a snared line drive produced a double play that ended the potential scoring threat.
Kern Valley’s second run touched the home dish as they played small ball. With one out and runners on the corners, Wargo pilled off the squeeze bunt to add a run to the Broncs tally. Their third run cam one inning later. And they would not score the rest of the way. But the three runs were more than enough to claim the victory mover the Bobcats.
Kern Valley as a team were limited to five hits. Wargo and E. Stockwell each had one hit and recorded one RBI to lead the Broncs. Thomas, Strange, and Lopez each had one hit in the game.
S. Stockwell pitched a complete game as he scattered four hits over the seven innings of work. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven Bobcats. He set a milestone in the top of the first as he recorded his 100th strikeout of his varsity career.
Up next for the Broncs was Desert at home on Tuesday and they will be on the road to face Frazier Mountain on Friday.
