Stars overcome irrigation error to sweep Saints

BALBOA PARK (6-10-2019) – A pair of San Diego Stars pitchers – Giancarlo Cortez and Bailey Roberson – carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, as the Stars topped the South Bay Saints, 6-3, in the first game of a Western Baseball Association doubleheader on Sunday (June 9). The contest was moved to Morley Field after Stars Field at Barona was accidentally flooded when someone forgot to turn off the sprinkling system.
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Cortez, who allowed just one unearned run to lift St. Augustine High past Granite Hills in a CIF Division I playoff contest last month, fired three no-hit innings, again getting burned for an unearned run.

Roberson, a recent El Capitan grad, followed with three no-hit innings of his own, gaining the pitching victory after the Stars mounted a 5-1 advantage.

Roberson would go five full frames, then Tyler Luban overcame a two-out single in the ninth to garner the save on a game-ending strikeout.

Trailing 1-0, Stars No. 9 hitter Carl Bunday, the left fielder, stroked a go-ahead, two-run double to score shortstop Tristan Salinas (single) and catcher Luke Arias (walk) in the second for San Diego (5-0 overall).

An inning later, third baseman Joey Krug belted a run-scoring double to bring home second baseman Reece Hernandez (lead single).  Two batters later, center fielder Ryan Major singled home both first baseman Dallas Seidel (walk) and Krug to push the advantage to 5-1.

After the Saints (the summer program for CSU Dominguez Hills) ended the no-hit bid with a pair of runs in the seventh, the Stars immediately answered with a series of two-out at-bats.

Reserve left fielder Cabot Von Til singled, pinch-hitter Shawn Knutson walked, followed by an RBI base hit by designated hitter Tyler Lindsay

For the contest, Bunday batted 2-for-3 and walked twice to fuel the unbeaten Stars.

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