Eby to Pitch for Pierce in Regional Final Opener

The Pierce College baseball team will continue its quest for a state championship this afternoon when the Brahmas play host to visiting Riverside at 3 p.m. in an opening-round game of the Southern California regional finals.

Pierce (30-6-1), seeded No. 1 in the 16-team regional, will send left-hander Mike Eby to the mound against the ninth-seeded Tigers (28-13), the second-place finisher from the Orange Empire Conference.

Eby, a freshman left-hander, is 8-1 with a 2.70 earned-run average. Brahma right-hander Eric Raba (11-0) is scheduled to pitch Saturday and right-hander Chris Brown (7-3) stands Game 3, if necessary.

Erik Martinez spearheads a high-powered Pierce offense. The Brahmas hit .330 during conference play and designated hitter Robby Welles leads the team with 13 home runs.

Pierce is playing in one of four four-team, double-elimination tournaments. The winner of each tournament will advance to the state championship tournament May 22-24 in Riverside. Fourth-seeded Rancho Santiago (28-12) will play No. 5 Mt. San Antonio (29-15) in today’s 11 a.m. game at Pierce.

The winners of today’s games will meet Saturday at 11 a.m. The losers play in a 10 a.m. game at Moorpark College. A second losers’-bracket game will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday at Pierce.

Pierce, the two-time defending Western State Conference champion, came within one game of reaching the state championship tournament last year.

Pierce is trying to match the feat of the school’s volleyball team, which won a state title earlier this month.