Sweep Puts Mission Two Steps Closer to a Conference Title

They can almost smell it now.

Mission College pulled to within one victory of winning the Southern California Athletic Conference baseball title by sweeping Cerro Coso, 10-2 and 8-7, Saturday at Mission in a battle between conference leaders.

If the Free Spirit (24-14, 16-7 in conference play) defeats Cerro Coso (17-16, 12-8) Wednesday at Ridgecrest it will clinch the championship in Mission’s regular-season finale. The teams went into Saturday’s doubleheader in a virtual tie for first place.

But the Free Spirit backed Cerro Coso into a corner with the two victories because the Coyotes trail by a game in the loss column. One defeat in their remaining four games would eliminate them.

Mission, which lost to Cerro Coso in their previous three games this season, got superb pitching from ace Ray Rivera (11-2) in the seven-inning opener and from Robert Ballester (6-2) in relief in the second game.

The Free Spirit went to the long ball to support its pitchers, hitting four home runs, including one in each game by catcher Joey Gandara. And Derrick Ornelas came up with the key blow of the afternoon with a single that scored Gandara from third with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth in the second game.

Rivera, a freshman right-hander, mowed down the Coyotes in the first game, going the distance for the eighth time. He allowed nine hits, struck out seven and walked one.

“The bigger the game, the better he gets,” Mission Coach John Klitsner said of Rivera.

Gandara provided much of the support, going three for three with his first homer of the season, a double and two runs batted in to give Rivera breathing room. Center fielder Gary Matthews had a two-run homer and first baseman Rob Walley knocked in three runs with a bases-loaded double in the fourth.

Ballester relieved John Romero in the third inning of the second game, when the Coyotes exploded for six runs to take a 6-5 lead.

He gave up two hits in seven innings and allowed only one run on a ninth-inning sacrifice fly by Paul Bassett that tied the game, 7-7.