COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Pierce Beats Cuesta on Error in 8th

The offense wasn’t exactly running in high gear Thursday, but Pierce College nonetheless escaped with a 4-3 victory over host Cuesta in a Western State Conference baseball game.

Pierce (20-2, 12-1 in conference play) was held to five hits but scratched out the win by scoring the decisive run in the eighth.

With the score tied, 3-3, Robby Welles singled with two out. After Joey Arnold walked, Welles gave Pierce a 4-3 lead when he scored on an infield throwing error.

Right-hander Paul Geller relieved starter Mike Eby (6-0) with two on in the ninth. Geller recorded the final two outs to earn his fifth save.

Eby, a freshman left-hander, worked 8 1/3 innings, gave up 10 hits, struck out four and walked three.

Cuesta, which never led, fell to 6-7 in conference play.

Pierce, ranked second in the state, will visit Ventura today at 2 p.m. in a conference showdown. The first-place Brahmas lead Ventura by 1 1/2 games.

In other baseball games:

Ventura 3, Oxnard 2--Tim Cornish had two hits and drove in two runs--including the game-winner--to lead Ventura in a WSC game at Oxnard.

With the score tied, 2-2, in the seventh, Chris Marsden (two hits) singled and was sacrificed to second. Cornish’s run-scoring single game Ventura (17-6, 10-2) the lead for good.

Sophomore right-hander Sam Arroyo (3-1) threw a seven-hitter, struck out five and walked two.

Kwinn Knight and Marsden also had two hits for Ventura, which broke a scoreless tie with a run in the fourth inning. Oxnard, however, grabbed a 2-1 lead with a two-run fifth.

Valley 4, Canyons 3--Willie Rivera, a freshman relief pitcher, allowed no runs and two hits in four innings as Valley (11-14-1, 6-6-1) won a WSC game.

Valley rallied for four runs in the sixth. Kevin Walsh hit a two-out, two-run double to cut Canyons’ lead to 3-2. Tim Weir drove in a run with a single and scored the winning run on a passed ball.

Walsh and Weir, former teammates at Crespi High, each had two hits. Rivera struck out four and walked one.

Canyons scored all of its runs in the fifth.

Mission 5, Compton 4--Jose Gallegos went three for five with two runs batted in to lead the Free Spirit in a Southern California Conference game at Compton.

Roy Lozano and Robert Garcia each had three hits for Mission (8-12-2, 5-6-1).

Freshman left-hander Canto Franco (2-0) scattered nine hits, struck out five and walked one for Mission.

The Free Spirit scored two runs in each of the third and fourth innings to open a 5-1 lead, but Compton scored three in the fifth to close within 5-4.

Azusa Pacific 11, The Master’s 5--Azusa Pacific scored six runs in the sixth inning to take a 10-2 lead in an NAIA District 3 game at Azusa.

Andy Martin was three for four with a home run and drove in two runs for The Master’s (9-18, 6-4). Russ Henzie had two hits, including a two-run homer, for The Master’s.

Azusa Pacific (17-8, 7-3) opened the sixth with back-to-back homers by Dante Palacio and Pat Fairly, a former Calabasas High standout and the son of former major leaguer Ron Fairly.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Loyola Marymount 6, Cal State Northridge 3--Monica Kocian provided Cal State Northridge (7-9) with its only singles victory at Loyola Marymount.

She defeated Kelly McMillion, 7-5, 6-1, to move into second place on the team with 10 singles wins.

Kocian (10-9) teamed with Danielle Wood to defeat Amy Okum and Lara Rabetich, 6-3, 7-5, as CSUN won two of three doubles matches.

Northridge’s Gabriela Knizek and Jill Kaeser defeated Jenny Knotts and Vicky Cordova, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6.