COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Rancho Santiago Squanders Chance to Clinch Tie for Title

Rancho Santiago had a chance to clinch a tie for the Orange Empire Conference baseball championship Saturday but instead lost to Fullerton, 9-8.

It was the third victory in four games this season for the seventh-place Hornets (15-23, 5-16 in conference) over Rancho Santiago (30-8, 15-7), the top-ranked team in Southern California.

Fullerton took a 9-7 lead into the ninth, but the Dons had a run in and the bases loaded with one out when Hornet Coach Nick Fuscardo brought in Zeke Barrios, Fullerton’s fifth pitcher.

Barrios fell behind Derek Brown, 3 and 1, but Brown hit a shallow fly to left. Steve Thobe flied out to left for the final out.

Orange Coast (13-8 in conference) beat Cypress, 7-1, to move into second, 1 1/2 games back with three to play.

Rancho Santiago has a bye Tuesday, plays host to Saddleback at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and ends the regular season at noon Saturday at OCC.

OCC plays host to Golden West at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, and is at Fullerton at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

“We’re trying to win the conference,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “But we also have to look at the bigger picture. We want to be playing well going into the playoffs, and we haven’t been for about the last week.”

Jeff Kafoury had a two-run single as Fullerton scored six runs in the fourth, three unearned, to take a 6-0 lead. Rancho Santiago rallied with one each in the fifth and sixth and four in the seventh to tie it, 6-6.

Kafoury had another RBI single, and Andre Robinson’s bunt single scored another run when Rancho Santiago left the plate unprotected while three players watched to see if the ball went foul.

Rancho Santiago got one back in the eighth, but Fullerton scored in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout by Ryan Wilson to make the score 9-7.

Rancho Santiago had several chances to score. The Dons had 12 hits, eight walks and three hit batters and seven stolen bases but left 16 on base.

In other conference games:

Orange Coast 7, Cypress 1--Phil Jensen pitched a six-hitter with eight strikeouts for host Orange Coast (23-15, 13-8). Paul McDaniels had three hits, and drove in three runs for OCC. Cypress, which has lost three in a row, is 26-14, 12-10.

Golden West 4, Saddleback 2--Mike Flanagan hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth for host Golden West (12-20, 6-15). Flanagan also had a double, drove in three runs and scored two more. Golden West, which started the week with an 11-game losing streak, has since one three of four.

Mike Huffman’s squeeze tied it in the top of the ninth for Saddleback (28-11, 13-9).