San Marcos rallies back and outlasts Santa Barbara in 11 innings

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - San Marcos High School baseball showed the heart of a champion.

Down early 4-0 with their ace on the mound Cole Schoenwetter, the Royals battled back and outlasted Santa Barbara 6-5 in an 11-inning Channel League thriller at a packed Eddie Mathews Field.

Owen Estabrook delivered a 2-out single in the top of the 11th to drive in Brendon Cekada to snap the 5-5 tie.

San Marcos is the two-time defending Channel League champion and they lead the league this year with a 10-1 mark with 3 games league games left including this Friday at home against Santa Barbara.

The Dons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead off of the UCSB-commit Schoenwetter.

The big hit in the inning was a 2-run double by Kai Mault.

But the Royals scored a run in the third and 4 more in the top of the fourth inning.

Patrick Kelly knocked in a run and Caden Hodina added a 2-run double to put the Royals up 5-4.

The Dons tied it at 5 and then both teams missed a few opportunities in extra innings before the Royals pulled it out in the 11th.

Both teams made some errors in the field that led to some unearned runs but besides that this rivalry game was a classic.

Santa Barbara drops to third place at 7-4 in league and will try and get revenge later in the week.