Calabasas Baseball Team Wins Third Straight VIBL Game

The Calabasas baseball team erased a three-run deficit and beat highly touted Crespi, 5-4, in a Valley Invitational Baseball League game on Friday at Calabasas High School.

Alex Rubanowitz gave Calabasas a one-run lead with a two-run, two-out double in the fourth inning.

He also started the game on the mound for Calabasas. He gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings. He worked in and out of trouble in the first three innings and pitched well enough for Calabasas (6-9) to win its third game in a row.

"Alex is Alex," said Calabasas center fielder Josh Ehrlich. "He is an amazing ball player. I can't remember the last time Alex had a bad game."

Crespi (6-11) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Andre Angel-Bello drove in Angelo Gasbarro with a two-out single.

Crespi went up 3-0 scoring two runs in the third inning. Daniel Avalos and James Gosnell each had RBI singles in the inning.

Calabasas scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to trim Crespi's lead to one run. Josh Ehrlich knocked in Travis Cassidy with a one-out single and Jacob Camhi added an RBI groundout that scored Rubanowitz.

"I had two strikes on me and I was just thinking protect. Hit something hard on the ground," Ehrlich said. "We went down early, but we just took it to them and got the outs we needed."

Calabasas took the lead in the fourth inning. Max Shifman led of the inning and reached first base on an error. It was one of three errors in the game for Crespi.

With two outs, Trevor Weiss drew a walk and Rubanowitz came up to the plate with runners on first and third.

Rubanowitz delivered with a double to right field that scored Shifman and Weiss.

"Anytime Rube is up with runners on base – they were pitching around him a lot," Calabasas coach Ed Edsall said. "He battled and came up huge for us."

Calabasas tacked on an insurance run in the fifth inning, a run they needed to win the game. Anthony DiCosimo knocked in Josh Fields to give Calabasas a 5-3 lead.

Justyn Lee came in to relieve Rubanowitz in the fifth inning and got two Crespi batters to fly out to right field to end the inning and preserve the Calabasas lead.

"I was confident that we would challenge the hitters and our defense would get guys out," Edsall said.

Crespi rallied in the top of the seventh inning. Dominique Linton led off the seventh with a single for Crespi. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a RBI single by Gasbarro.

With the tying run on first base, Lee got the next two Crespi batters to fly out to centerfield to end the game.

"We're starting to play a lot better," Edsall said. "Starting to gel."

Rubanowitz was 1-for-4, scored a run and drove in two runs for Calabasas. Ehrlich was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Camhi was 0-for-2, drove in a run and drew two walks.