Fair Oaks third baseman Josh Britt dives back into first ahead of a pickoff throw in the Oaks game against Vacaville. Vacaville beat Post 383 10-6 in Fair Oaks' second game of the W.A.B.F. Tournament. Photo by Joe Blenkle

Vacaville 10, Fair Oaks 6 (League: 11-1, Overall: 22-5-1) - June 30 @ Laurel Creek Park, Fairfield - After beating Santa Rosa so easily in the first game of the Western Amateur  Baseball Federation tournament in Fairfield, the Oaks faced a tough Vacaville team in their second game of the day, losing to Post 165 10-6.

    Fair Oaks loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, but couldn't score as third baseman Josh Britt led off with a hit up the middle. He moved to second on a groundout by second baseman Ryan Dettman and then took third on center fielder Jon Lang's fly to right. Vacaville's pitcher Tyler Flurey then gave up consecutive walks to left fielder Cody Osburn and shortstop Andrew Gutierrez to load the bases, but the next batter struck out and the Oaks didn't score.

    Vacaville came back to score four runs off Oaks starter Taylor Hickman in the bottom of the inning off four hits, an error, walk and hit batter, as the Oaks dug themselves a deep hole.

    Post 383 mounted a comeback, however, as they scored five times in the top of the third inning to take a 5-4 lead.

    Britt led off with a hit past third and then with one out, Lang also hit the ball past  Vacaville third baseman Alex Crosby. Osburn then got an RBI as he grounded out to third and Gutierrez followed with a hit to right field to score Lang and make it a 4-2 game. With first baseman Justin Haley at the plate, Gutierrez stole second and advanced to third as Haley struck out and the ball got away from Vacaville's catcher allowing Haley to reach first safely. With designated hitter Chris Harms at the plate, Haley stole second unopposed. Harms then hit the ball to short, but the throw to first was high and got away and Harms was safe with both Gutierrez and Haley scoring to tie the game at 4-4. Catcher Branden Lang then bunted the ball back to the pitcher, but another bad throw to first allowed him to reach safely with Harms scoring to give the Oaks a 5-4 lead.

    Post 383's advantage didn't last long, however, as Vacaville led off with a home run to start the bottom of the fourth and tie the game at 5-5. Brian Kennedy replaced Hickman on the mound and Vacaville immediately threatened again as the next batter reached base on an error. The Oaks erased the runner on a steal attempt, however, and Kennedy struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning. Things fell apart after that though as Kennedy hit pinch hitter A.J. Quintero and then gave up a home run to Vacaville first baseman Jesse Savage to give Post 165 a 7-5 lead.

    Vacaville loaded the bases in the sixth with one out and went on to score three more runs to take a 10-5 lead into the final inning.

    The Oaks staged a rally as Jon Lang led off with a walk. With Osburn at the plate, Lang stole second and then moved to third on a Gutierrez hit to center field. Haley struck out for the inning's second out and then Harms walked to load the bases. Flurey then hit Branden Lang to force in Jon Lang to make it a 10-6 game, but the next batter grounded out to end the game and give Vacaville the 10-6 victory.

Fair Oaks: Pitching - Hickman, Kennedy (4) and B. Lang. Top Hitters - Britt 2x2; Gutierrez 2x3.
Vacaville: Pitching - Flurey and Valderana. Top Hitters - Crosby 2B; Ramirez 2B; Savage 4x4, HR, 3 RBI; Grodueweg 2x3, 2B, 2 RBI; Valderana 2x4; Andres HR; Ayers 2 RBI.