Designated hitter Patrick Garcia bombed his third home run in the last four games while backup shortstop Jack Esguerra followed making the defensive play of the game by hitting a walk-off, single in the 11th inning to give the Pasadena City College baseball team a 6-5 win over Victor Valley on Thursday. The Lancers (5-2 record) capped a home-and-home series against the Rams, winning at Victor Valley, 12-5, on Tuesday.
Esguerra, who didn't enter the game until the top of the eighth inning, saved a run in the top of the 10th inning. With a runner on second and one out, VVC's Darren Atkinson ripped a line drive to the shortstop hole off reliever Tyler Mitchell, but Esguerra made an acrobatic diving catch and doubled off the runner to end the threat. That kept the score at 5-5.
With the international tie-breaker in effect in the 11th, PCC placed pinch runner Josh Hernandez on second base. After second baseman Ivan Barragan moved Hernandez to third on a sacrifice bunt, Esguerra laced a line drive single to center and then was mobbed by his teammates in celebration of the team's fourth straight victory.
None of the heroics happen if not for the power hitting of Garcia, a sophomore transfer slugger. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Garcia (2-for-4) towered a 2-run homer over the left field fence in the fourth inning to tie it at 4-4. The dinger erased an early 4-0 deficit for PCC.
With the Lancers trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth, It was Garcia and Esguerra teaming up with big at bats. Garcia laced a triple down the left field line. With two outs, Barragan drew a walk to put runners on first and third, bringing up Esguera. The freshman from Arcadia High battled through an 8-pitch at bat that finished with him drawing a walk, but Victor Valley reliever Adan Farias bounced his final delivery, allowing pinch runner Alex Dolan to score from third on the wild pitch to tie the game.
Another Thursday hero was PCC closer Rider Gardner. The letterman reliever, whose older brother Race was nicknamed "BullDog" for his clutch starting pitching for the Lancers' 2017 South Coast Conference North Division champion team, is turning into BullDog 2.0, especially after his performance in the top of the 11th inning. With VVC getting to place a runner on second, Gardner calmly blew away the Rams, striking out the side 1-2-3. Gardner earned his first win and also has two saves this season.
More brotherly love on the PCC hill was produced by first sophomore starter Coleman Mitchell, who settled down after a rough third inning to throw six innings (nine hits, three earned runs, no walks, two Ks), and his freshman younger brother Tyler Mitchell, who pitched two, 1-hit shutout innings in relief. The pair are products of Monrovia High.
Frosh reliever Ben Griffith also tossed two innings of 1-hit relief. Griffith Tyler Mitchell and Gardner combined to total five scoreless innings.
For the PCC offense, first baseman Jake Trabbie was 2-for-4, rightfielder Jakob Guardado batted 2-for-5 with a bomb ground-rule double that one-hopped off the top of the left-center field fence, and centerfielder Tommy Castillo was 2-for-5 with a double.
PCC 12, Victor Valley 5, Feb. 7
Tied 3-3 in the top of the sixth in Tuesday's win, rightfielder Damien Ureta (3-for-5) hammered a solo home run to left to give PCC the lead. With two runners on and two outs, PCC head coach Pat McGee sent up Garcia as a pinch hitter. Garcia promptly delivered a 3-run blast over the LF fence for a commanding 7-3 lead. Garcia went on to bat 3-for-3 with four RBI.
Toshiki Kuriya, playing third base, hit a 2-RBI single as part of a 5-run, Lancers ninth that put the game away. Tyler Mitchell picked up his first win pitching the last two outs of the fifth inning. Middle reliever Nathan Mertens (two innings, two hits, one run, two Ks) and Gardner (two innings, three hits, one run) closed things out with Gardner picking up the save.
Starter Kyle Noell pitched well with 4.1 innings, seven hits, three runs, and six strikeouts. Catcher Matthew Delgado batted 2-for-5.
The Lancers collected 11 hits, seven walks, and survived getting hit by pitch an amazing eight times by four Victor Valley pitchers. Kuriya resembled a dartboard for Rams pitchers, who plunked him three times. Leftfielder Aryonis Harrison drew two HBPs and a walk and scored three runs. Delgado, Castillo (and two walks, two runs), and Trabbie (one walk) were also hit by pitches. Esguerra drew three walks.
Garcia's hot start to the 2023 season has him leading the state in slugging percentage at 1.294 although he doesn't have enough total plate appearances to appear on the leader boards. He is 8-for-17, leading the team in home runs (three) and triples (two) plus one double. Garcia is batting .471.
The Lancers host Merced College on Saturday, Feb. 11 in a 12 noon start at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Field.