COMMUNITY COLLEGE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BASEBALL REGIONALS : Nay’s Pitching Helps Rancho Santiago Advance

The ease with which Rancho Santiago College dispatched Mt. San Jacinto from the Southern California Regional playoffs Saturday was impressive.

Rob Nay pitched a five-hitter and the Dons won, 12-0, in the second game to win the series two games to one. Rancho Santiago had won, 6-4, Friday.

The Dons were overpowering in the second game Saturday after struggling in the first game, an 8-7 loss.

In the loss, Rancho Santiago had only seven hits and left eight runners on base in the final four innings.

But Mt. San Jacinto, the 15th-seeded team, was out of pitching in the second game and Rancho Santiago, the No. 2 seed, still had Nay, a sophomore left-hander.

Nay (6-1) allowed hits to the first two batters he faced, but got a double play to help escape the jam. The Rancho Santiago infield turned double plays in the second and fourth innings as well.

Nay had two walks and five strikeouts and Mt. San Jacinto (21-23) advanced a runner to third base only twice.

“Nay did another (good) job for us,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “He’s done it when we needed him most. He had a good fastball and he kept them off balance with his curve.”

Rancho Santiago (34-10) scored three runs in the third and four in the fourth. Conrad Colby had a sacrifice fly and Jeff White added a two-run single in the third.

Brian Criss had an RBI double, Shaun Sterling had an RBI groundout and the final two runs were scored on an error and a wild pitch in the fourth.

Colby had RBI singles in the sixth and the eighth and Greg Martineau hit a three-run home run in the eighth for Rancho Santiago.

Martineau, who hit a three-run home run in the first game as well, has seven this season.

Martineau hit fourth in the second game as Sneddon continued to shuffle his lineup.

Marty Neff, who had been hitting fourth most of the season, was moved to the sixth spot because of a slump. He was one for 12 with two RBIs in the three playoff games.

Chris Floth hit fourth and Martineau fifth in the first game, but it was Floth’s failed bunt that hurt Rancho Santiago in the first game. Rancho Santiago trailed, 8-7, in the ninth, but Steve Grack singled and Colby walked. Floth took two strikes before flying out.

Martineau hit into a force play and Neff grounded out to end the game.

Jay Hassel (6-2), pitching in relief of starter Matt Lackie, took the loss. Lackie, who had pitched once in the last three weeks before Saturday because of a viral infection, allowed eight hits and five runs, four earned, in three-plus innings.

The second round, which starts Friday, is double elimination and will be played at two sites. The pairings will be announced today. The tentative schedule is Rancho Santiago playing Riverside and Moorpark against Fullerton at Riverside; at Cerritos, L.A. Harbor will play Rio Hondo and Golden West will take on San Bernardino Valley.

In other playoff games:

Golden West 8, Cuesta 2--James Hutchins (6-2) pitched a four-hitter to lead host Golden West (27-12-1). Mark Magrann had four hits and Steve McKowen, Gary Christopherson, Gerad Cawhorn and Mike Willey had two hits for Golden West. Shelby Hart also had two sacrifice flies.

Fullerton 3-9, Canyons 7-5--Fullerton rallied in the second game to advance. Canyons led, 5-1, after three innings in the second game, but Fullerton’s Jim Short had a sacrifice fly to give Fullerton a 6-5 lead. Tom Wilson added an RBI single.

Crosby Spencer and Jeff Manship hit home runs in the eight for Fullerton (26-14).

Matt Lipscomb (3-3) pitched a six-hitter, allowing only one hit after the third. It was his first complete game this season.