Stars in third after defeating Redbirds

ECS staff report

CARMEL HIGHLANDS —- Dallas Seidel and Danny Zapeda both capped two-RBI outings with consecutive run-scoring hits in the sixth inning Wednesday (July 15), snapping a tied ballgame to power the San Diego Stars summer collegiate baseball club to a 5-3 decision over the host Solana Beach Redbirds.  The Western Baseball Association contest was held at Torrey Pines High School.

Both Seidel and Zapeda belted hard grounders through the infield, allowing Keoni Valdez (line single) and Kyle Pineda (safe on an error) to score and move the Stars in front.

The San Diego bullpen then shut out down the Redbirds on just one hit over the final five innings.

Winning pitcher Kai Dennis tossed six strong innings, then the ‘pen did even better. Ryan Skillman fired a hitless seventh inning, then Austin Seidel struck out three Redbirds batters on one hit over the final two frames for the save.

In the early going, both sides scored single runs in three of the first four innings, with the Stars offense featuring a go-ahead, RBI double by Zepeda in the fourth. Brady Joslyn also doubled for the Stars.

With the triumph, San Diego snapped a third-place deadlock between the ballclubs in the WBA standings. The Colton Nighthawks lead the pack, followed by the San Diego Waves of Escondido.

The Stars return home on Thursday — National Grandparents Day — to host the North County Gorillas/Bulldogs at El Capitan High, starting at 4:30 p.m.