Canyons Has Last Laugh on Glendale, 25-18

The conclusion of a long and crazy game Thursday drew a comical remark from Denny Barrett.

“Canyons is too good,” said Barrett, baseball coach of Glendale College. “You can’t give them 25 runs and expect to win.”

Even funnier, Glendale almost did.

College of the Canyons, scoring seven runs in the eighth inning to break open a tie game, outslugged Glendale, 25-18, in a marathon Western State Conference South Division game at Canyons.

The game lasted four hours 17 minutes and included 33 hits and 12 errors. Nine pitchers combined for only eight strikeouts and yielded six home runs.

“I don’t know how to explain a game like that,” Canyons Coach Len Mohney said. “Just one of those deals. They did a great job to keep coming back.”

Canyons (20-12, 12-8 in conference play), rallying toward a third consecutive division title, built leads of 9-5, 13-6 and 17-9, but still needed a late rally to put away the first-place Vaqueros (21-11, 12-6).

Canyons settled the issue in a sloppy eighth inning that included four hits and two Glendale errors. Each team committed six errors.

There were fireworks too.

Canyons batted around three times and Kris Yeaman and Sergio Franco had home runs.

Franco’s two-run homer in the third gave the Cougars a 9-5 lead and sent starter Gerald De La Pena to the showers.

Yeaman’s towering three-run home run off Charlie Hirsh in the fourth gave Canyons a 13-6 lead.

“The ball was sailing today with the wind,” Yeaman said. “Especially for us left-handers.”

Freddy Sanchez had two of Glendale’s four home runs.

Sanchez, a sophomore shortstop from Burbank High, had a grand slam to highlight a six-run sixth inning that pulled Glendale to within 17-15. Sanchez had a home run in the eighth.

Sophomore right-hander Chris Baker (3-3) got the win for Canyons.