The Colleges : Community College Baseball : Rancho Santiago Takes Early Lead, Holds Off Cypress

Perspective seemed to be the key in Rancho Santiago College’s 12-8 victory over Cypress in an Orange Empire Conference baseball showdown Thursday at Cypress.

Rancho Santiago (19-3, 4-0) is the top-ranked team in Southern California, and Cypress (17-5, 3-1) is ranked second.

With the victory, Rancho Santiago took over sole possession of first place in the conference, but Thursday’s game was just the first of four meetings between the teams in the 20-game conference schedule.

“This one is nice, but it doesn’t mean we will win anything,” Don Sneddon, Rancho Santiago coach, said. “It’s the ones at the end that mean something.”

Rancho Santiago took a 7-0 lead after two innings, but Cypress scored seven runs in the third inning to tie the score.

Rancho Santiago regained the lead in the fourth inning on a double by Nick Santa Cruz and an RBI single by Rich Gonzales.

Bobby Hamelin hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning as Rancho Santiago scored four runs to take a 12-7 lead. It was Hamelin’s 13th home run; he has 55 RBIs.

Scott Pickler, Cypress coach, had started Steve Gill on the mound. He regularly plays center field but pitches because two Cypress pitchers have sore arms.

Gill was rocked for six hits and six runs in a third of an inning. Rancho Santiago led, 7-0, after two innings.

Mike Gonzales had a two-run double and Tim Reynolds had a two-run single for Rancho Santiago in the first.

“I took a chance, but I started the wrong guy,” Pickler said. “He’s a better pitcher than that. I just didn’t take him out soon enough. It’s a long season, though it’s going to come down to the end.”

Willie Navarrette, who had a 5-0 record coming in, started for Rancho Santiago but couldn’t get past the third inning.

Ken Briggs’ single scored the first Cypress run. Navarrette appeared to be out of the inning when Tim Churchill grounded to short, but Santa Cruz dropped the ball for a two-out error that scored Cypress’ second run.

Jason Friedman followed with a two-run single and Doug Yates hit a three-run home run to tie it, 7-7. Tim MacNeil (3-0) then replaced Navarrette, and allowed a run and seven hits but had seven strikeouts over the final 6 innings for the victory.

Kevin Bumgarner (1-2) pitched 8 innings of relief but took the loss.

In other Orange Empire Conference games:

Orange Coast 5, Riverside 3--John Kuzmic had 17 strikeouts, giving up five hits, in 8 innings for host Orange Coast. Derek Dehdashtian went 2 for 4 with an RBI for Orange Coast (16-11-1).

Saddleback 9, Citrus 5--David Ross allowed seven hits and struck out three in 8 innings to lead host Saddleback (11-10, 2-2). Citrus is 1-3 in conference play.

In the South Coast Conference:

Fullerton 7, Mt. San Antonio 6--Fullerton scored four runs in the eighth inning to win at Fullerton. Phil Diplock scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Reliever Jeff Petredes gained the victory for Fullerton (17-4-1, 3-2).