THOUSAND OAKS, CA – On Sunday afternoon, the Arroyo Seco Saints (13-14) traveled to Thousand Oaks to face the Conejo Oaks (19-9) for the second time this weekend.  

In the previous game on Saturday night, the Oaks defeated the Saints 7-5. Riding off a win, the Oaks came ready to get their second victory of the weekend.  

The Saints’ coaching staff chose Zach Erdman (Transfer Portal) to start on the mound for the Saints. Erdman has won the Saints’ Pitcher of the Week title three times so far this season because of his stellar pitching performances.  

Erdman said that his mentality coming onto the mound was to “just attack the guys.”  

In the first, Oaks starting pitcher Cody Carson had a 1-2-3 inning. Oaks infielder Ethan Gonzalez had a base hit, but none of the other hitters could get him across.  

A few of the Saints’ batters walked to get on base in the second and third innings, but could not get on the board. The Oaks’ hitters were able to get base hits in the second and third innings, including Tommy Kendlinger, but he was picked off at first.  

Both teams stayed quiet through the fourth and fifth innings until Anthony Thomas blasted a ball to reach second base. Kendlinger was able to bring in Thomas with a single, making the score 1-0 for the Oaks.  

The score stayed 1-0 through the sixth inning. In the seventh, Lucas Danielewicz got on base with a single, and Thomas brought him in with an RBI double. Kendlinger tripled to bring in Thomas, adding one more to the board. Off a wild pitch, Kendlinger was able to put up another run for the Oaks, making the score 4-0.  

Nolan McCracken (Transfer Portal) kept the Oaks to four runs through the eighth inning and put up two strikeouts. The Saints were able to get on the board with a single from Jacob Freer (Azusa Pacific) that brought in Trotter Enright (Long Beach State), who got a double in his at-bat. However, the score of 4-1 was made official when other Saints hitters weren’t able to combat the Oaks’ lead.  

Erdman pitched a total of six innings for the Saints with four strikeouts and allowed only one run. In a post-game interview, Erdman shared his key to success on Sunday.  

“I think my changeup today was working really well,” Erdman said. “If my velocity is not as high as I want it to be or anything like that, the off-speed has to be there to keep them off balance.” 

Looking ahead, the Saints players that are selected to play in the CCL Showcase game will take the field at the MLB Youth Academy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PST.  

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Taylor Dowdy (Arizona)
• Edited by Saints reporter Tyler Bowne (San Diego State)
• Saints photographer Carina Sanchez (Cal State Los Angeles)