At the end of a long ride up the 101, the Millikan Rams found themselves staring into a mirror—the reflection was the Oxnard Yellowjackets, a scrappy team with a dominant pitcher, who have struggled to get runs across this year.  After eight innings of dueling pitchers, the Yellowjackets came up on top, knocking Millikan out of the playoffs with a 2-0 win.

Credit Oxnard’s sophomore leftie Jayson Balades, who you can bet you’ll hear more about in the next two years.  Spotting his fastball, Balades struck out 11 batters in a complete-game, two-hit effort.  “He was dominant,” said Millikan coach Scott Glasser.  “Maybe the toughest pitcher we’ve faced all year.”

A few errors by Oxnard opened the door, but Millikan couldn’t quite string enough offense together to get it done—senior Josh Frye threw another gem, going the distance and giving up 6 hits, striking out 6.  “He was great,” said Glasser.  “He wasn’t in trouble all game.”  Until, that is, the bottom of the eighth, when the leadoff batter hit a single, and then Oxnard’s leading hitter Austin Davidson went yard to end the game.

“It’s always disappointing to lose a game you feel like you can win,” said Glasser.  “But I’m proud of these guy—I always am.  Every one of them got better and worked hard, and that’s what it’s all about.”  In their third straight year making the playoffs, Glasser said, “We got a lot of support from the parents, the players, the seniors, our assistant coaches…that’s what makes Millikan baseball so special.”