Community College Baseball : Golden West Rallies, Hands Rancho Santiago 1st Loss
Golden West College first squandered an 8-3 lead, then rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat No. 1-ranked Rancho Santiago, 13-12, Saturday in a nonconference baseball game at Golden West.
It was the first loss of the season for Rancho Santiago.
Trailing 12-11 in the ninth, Golden West’s Mike Huyler led off with a single off Brian Snoddy. After Brett Snyder replaced Snoddy, Craig Paquette doubled to left field. Tom Smythe was then intentionally walked and Terry Reichert followed with a double to center, driving in the winning runs.
Golden West (8-4) jumped in front early, as Jon Martin’s three-run home run capped a five-run first inning that gave the Rustlers a 5-1 advantage. The lead swelled to 8-3 before Rancho Santiago started its comeback in the seventh inning.
The Dons (14-1) closed to within in the seventh on a three-run homer by Bob Hamelin, his ninth of the season. They then led off the eighth with seven consecutive hits to take an 11-8 lead.
Golden West tied the score in the bottom of the inning, with the help of four walks. The Rustlers loaded the bases with two outs, then got an RBI single from Martin and back-to-back walks to John Tazza and Dan Villega.
Don Roberson led off the top of the ninth with a double to left and moved to third on a sacrifice. He scored on a fielder’s choice groundout by Kraig Washington, giving the Dons a 13-12 lead.
Tim Hokuf was the winning pitcher, although he didn’t get an out. Hokuf (4-1) entered the game with two outs in the ninth and threw four pitches, on the last of which Washington was caught stealing by Villega.
Fullerton 10, L.A. Harbor 6--Michael Oziminski, Rod Kopfer and Shawn Blankenship each drove in two runs for host Fullerton (12-2-1). David Whackerman (1-0) pitched two innings in relief for the victory.
Cypress 7, College of the Desert 2--Cypress (13-2) scored six runs in the bottom of the second and coasted to a home victory. Jeff Patterson improved his record to 3-0.