Adversity truly hit the Pasadena City College baseball team on Thursday. The Lancers, ranked #7 in the state, let a seemingly insurmountable 9-run lead slip away as visiting El Camino rallied for an amazing 10 runs in the top of the ninth. The 14-13 loss spelled the team's first South Coast Conference series defeat of the season and dropped the Lancers to fourth place in the standings.
PCC (26-10 overall, 14-6 in SCC play) wasted a number of solid performances against the #13 Warriors, now 27-9 overall, 15-5 and tied for second with Long Beach behind first-place Mt. San Antonio (16-4) in the super close SCC race. Pasadena had a 7-game home win streak snapped at its off-campus home diamond--Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Memorial Field. For the season, PCC is 14-4 at home.
After Pasadena lost at El Camino, 7-1, on Tuesday, Benny Olguin and the offense seemed to set the team up for a series-tying win. Entering to start the third inning, Olguin pitched six innings of superb relief, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and recording seven strikeouts. Centerfielder Max Blessinger slugged a 3-run homer over the left-field fence to give PCC a 4-2 lead in the second. He batted 3-for-6 overall, including a double.
Second baseman Andrew Scannell went 3-for-4 (two RBI), lining a deep triple that landed just inside the left-field line in the seventh. First baseman Jake Trabbie was 2-for-4, including a walk and a hit-by-pitch, and rightfielder Josh Hernandez scored three runs in his first three at-bats (finished 0-for-2), but worked the ECC pitchers for two HBPs and a walk. Designated hitter Jakob Guardado (0-2) drew four walks and catcher Matthew Delgado (0-3) was plunked twice and had a walk. Shortstop Raider Tello went 1-for-5 with two RBI.
When Trabbie and Tello scored on back-to-back wild pitches, PCC led 13-4 by the end of the seventh inning. With Olguin's day over after a 1-2-3 eighth inning and a 9-run lead in hand, PCC head coach Pat McGee figured it was safe to go the rest of the bullpen.
El Camino started the ninth v. reliever Nicolas Day, chipping away at the giant deficit. Three singles, two walks, a HBP and a wild pitch ended Day's day. With one out, Kyle Noell's first pitch was deposited over the left centerfield fence by Ben Griffin for a grand slam that cut the PCC lead to 13-11. Rider Gardner eventually relieved Noell and surrendered a RBI double before hitting El Camino's third catcher of the game in Jorge Renteria with the bases loaded to allow the Warriors to tie it at 13-13.
McGee turned to Saturday's scheduled starting pitcher Coleman Mitchell, who appeared to do his job getting a comebacker hit by Jake Harper. Mitchell knocked the ball down but instead of throwing home for a potential fielder's choice, he fired it to first for the out that scored Theo Forshey from third for ECC's winning run. In all, El Camino scored 10 runs on six hits, four walks and two HBPs and sent 15 players to the plate. Mitchell was the lone effective reliever (other than Olguin), recording the last two outs.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Lancers put the tying run on second base after two walks, but ECC closer Julian Diaz struck out Delgado looking for the final out to pick up his ninth save. Earlier in the inning, PCC third baseman Toshiki Kuriya was robbed of a sure double on a diving catch by El Camino rightfielder Dylan Knowles.
PCC will try to recover when it travels to face El Camino on Saturday at 12 noon in the series finale.
LANCERS AMONG STATE STAT LEADERS
Tello continues to lead the state in hits with 70 and doubles with 18, and he collected his 50th RBI (already has the PCC school record), tied for third. Blessinger is fourth in runs scored with 50 (also a PCC single-season record), sixth in both hits with 60 and RBI with 46. Olguin's ERA dropped to 1.45, now third in the state in a team-leading 62 innings. He has a 7-1 record with 62 strikeouts.