Sophomores Jake Trabbie and Aryonis Harrison each etched their names into the Pasadena City College baseball record books while the Lancers series sweep of Los Angeles Harbor has lifted them into a second place tie with Rio Hondo in the South Coast Conference going into the final week of the regular season.
The Lancers closed out their Harbor sweep with a 14-3 rout at Brookside Park on Thursday, then a 10-1 road romp on Saturday. PCC outscored the last-place Seahawks, 42-11, in the three victories.
PCC is 22-15 overall and now 14-7 in the SCC. El Camino leads the conference race at 16-5. While the Lancers face seventh-place Compton for a 3-game set, the Warriors play sixth-place Mt. San Antonio. ECC needs to win two to clinch the outright title but PCC could grab a share of the crown if its sweeps Compton and Mt. SAC takes two of three v. El Camino. Rio Hondo (14-7) faces East Los Angeles and is also mathematically in the hunt for first place.
Trabbie, a SCC MVP candidate and sophomore first baseman, hit his 19th double of the season in Thursday's victory to tie Raider Tello (2022) for the PCC single-season record. Harrison, in his fourth year in the program as a leftfielder, drew three free passes on Saturday, giving him 37 walks--a new Lancers single-season record. Marco Martinez had the old mark of 36 in 2019.
In the series finale, third baseman Toshiki Kuriya ripped a pair of doubles (2-for-5) while winning pitcher Jakob Guardado hurled 7.2 innings allowing just six hits, a walk, while striking out eight batters. Guardado (5-5 record) hit a RBI single and drove in another run on a sacrifice fly to help out his own cause.
Shortstop Jack Esguerra hit a 2-RBI single in the fifth, Trabbie batted 2-for-3 with two walks and his state-leading 11th sacrifice fly, Harrison reached base four times as well (1-for-3 and his walks), and centerfielder Tommy Castillo was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch. Rider Gardner pitched the final four outs to close out the win.
In Thursday's victory, Harbor raced to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but PCC scored 14 unanswered runs including four each in the third, fifth and eighth innings. Guardado had a banner day at the plate (2-for-4), knocking in five runs, three on his second home run of the season over the centerfield fence in the eighth. He drove in eight RBI in the three Harbor wins.
Castillo scored three runs, stole two bases and drew two BBs, Kuriya had two RBI, Aryonis Harrison scored three runs (hit, a walk, and HBP), and catcher Matt Rice collected three of the team's 13 walks delivered by Harbor pitching.
Coleman Mitchell pitched his conference-leading seventh victory by throwing 6 innings, five scoreless after a rough first. Nathan Mertens got the 3-inning save, allowing only one hit and recording three strikeouts.
In the series, the Lancers' plate patience resulted in an incredible 39 walks, 18 of those became runs (three others on hit by pitches). PCC now leads the state in walks drawn with 239.
Trabbie continues to lead the SCC in RBI with 44 overall and his 19 doubles are third in the state. Harrison is third in the state in walks while Kuriya is ninth in BBs with 32.
Jake Trabbie homers in the series opener on April 18
