SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – The Arroyo Seco Saints (5-4) visited the San Luis Obispo Blues (12-6) at Sinsheimer Field on Thursday night.  

Coming off a win against the Conejo Oaks, the Saints were ready to go on the road. The Blues have a strong number of wins under their belt but fell to the Sonoma Stompers on Wednesday.  

Saints’ pitcher Daniel Tovar shared his approach coming into this road series.  

“It was just to attack,” Tovar said. “I knew they were a pretty strong team, so I knew I had to get ahead of them.”  

Starting on the mound for the Saints was Joseph Estrada (Lewis-Clark State College). Estrada put up two scoreless innings against the Blues, but the Blue’s offense started rolling in the 3rd.  

Sam Ardoin (Louisiana Lafayette) had a leadoff double to get the momentum going for the Blues. EJ Royal (Utah Tech) followed with a base hit to get Ardoin to 3rd. Cade O’Hara (Texas Austin) put up a sacrifice fly to get the Blues on the board for their first run of the night.  

Logan Hart (Cal State Fullerton) kept the hitting streak alive with an RBI double bringing in Royal. Andrew Rayment (Santa Clara) added an RBI single to make the score 3-0.  

Saints’ reliever Chris Hernandez-Vides (Azusa Pacific) came in and successfully got out of the 3rd with bases loaded.  

The Saints’ offense put up a few base hits in the early innings but could not get anyone across the plate.  

Cade Shumard (New Mexico State) came in for the 5th inning and delivered another scoreless inning for the Saints. Tovar dominated against the Blue’s offense with three strikeouts and no runs in the 6th and 7th innings.  

Closing pitcher Ethan Moran (undecided) kept the Blues scoreless and delivered one strikeout in the 8th.  

Saints’ catcher JJ Kennett (Baylor University) had a base hit in the top of the 9th, attempting to get the offense moving, but the Blue’s closed out the game with a score of 3-0.  

The Saints have five wins and four losses this summer season, and they have a shot on Friday to advance their winning record.  

Looking ahead, the Saints will face the Sonoma Stompers at Arnold Field on Friday night at 6 p.m. PST.  

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Taylor Dowdy (Arizona)
• Edited by Saints reporter Nick Olquin (Ashland)
• Saints photographer Carina Sanchez (Cal State LA)