BRIEFLY : Pierce Awaits Conference Decision on Protest

An official protest by Pierce College of a 1-0 loss to Long Beach City College on Tuesday afternoon has been received by the Metropolitan Conference, Commissioner Don Wilson said Friday.

Wilson said he would not make a ruling until he received a statement from plate umpire Rudy Ramirez.

“But we don’t have a lot of time here,” Wilson said.

Pierce baseball Coach Tim Collins lodged the protest in the bottom of the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game, with Long Beach leading, 1-0. If Wilson upholds the protest, the game would be replayed from that point, with no outs and a Pierce runner on second base.

Collins contends that he conferred with Ramirez about pinch-hitting for Joe Reda, then changed his mind. Reda then bunted Ross Hersh to third base.

Ramirez, however, ruled that the substitution had been made. He ruled Reda out for batting out of turn and sent Hersh back to second base. Mark Bowen then sacrificed Hersh to third, where he was one of eight Pierce baserunners left stranded in the game.

The defeat left Pierce three games behind first-place Long Beach in the Metro standings. A win would have put the Brahmas within one game of the conference lead.