Benicia High’s varsity baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over visiting Vacaville on Saturday.

The win avenged a 2-1 extra-inning loss at Vacaville on April 11 that had snapped Benicia’s three-game winning streak. The Panthers are now 11-9 overall and will conclude a three-game season series with the Bulldogs when the two teams meet this coming Saturday in Vacaville.

The Bulldogs (13-6) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Kyle Kramer made it all the way to second base after Benicia’s only error of the day and eventually scored on a one-out double to left by Ryan Strong. That run was all Benicia would allow as starting pitcher Niko Leon Guerrero and reliever Caleb Van Blake combined on a three-hitter. Guerrero went 5 1/3 innings and didn’t allow an earned run en route to the win while Van Blake pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for his third save of the season.

The Panthers tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Badger led off with a walk, and after back-to-back strikeouts, he stole second and ended up scoring on a two-out RBI single by Michael Cosmides.

Benicia took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. Riley Pitkin led off with a single, stole second and scored on a RBI single by Drew Saitz. Two outs later, Saitz stole second and scored an insurance run on a double by Badger.

Benicia plays at Vallejo on Wednesday.

Sharing is caring!