Noll Gives Glendale Grand Finale

Ryan Noll got a second chance and didn’t waste it.

Noll, No. 8 hitter for Glendale College, lined out with the potential winning run on second base to end the ninth inning.

But in the 11th, he deposited Chris Vega’s full-count, two-out fastball over the center-field fence for a grand slam to give the Vaqueros a 6-2 victory over Oxnard in a battle of Western State Conference divisional leaders Tuesday at Stengel Field.

For Glendale (19-3), leading the Southern Division with a 10-2 record, it was the fourth consecutive victory over a first-place team.

“This is the kind of win that shows we are a good team and not just a fluke,” said Noll, a sophomore from Glendale High. “We were getting frustrated at times, but we battled.”

Oxnard (15-9, 9-3 in the Northern Division) has thrived on pitching and defense, but they deserted the Condors in the 11th inning.

Vega (1-1) walked Evan Shahak to start the inning. First baseman Martin Mendoza threw away Jon Horwitz’s bunt, putting runners on second and third with none out.

It was one of four Oxnard errors, which led to four unearned runs.

After an intentional walk and a force play at the plate, Noll’s second home run of the season made tactics a moot point. It was Glendale’s only extra-base hit.

“Champion ballclubs aren’t supposed to fall apart and we did,” catcher Jared Krehbiel of Oxnard said.

Oxnard stranded seven runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded twice.

Glendale relievers Angel Espindola and Ivan Lopez (4-0) combined for five innings of one-hit relief.

Espindola struck out seven in three innings, including Josh Miller and Krehbiel with a runner on second base and one out in the ninth.

“We left a small village on the bases,” Oxnard Coach Jon Larson said. “And we didn’t get hits when we had guys on.”

Josh Sanchez, Miller and Krehbiel, Oxnard’s second, third and fourth hitters, had one hit in 10 at-bats.

Scott Robertson of Oxnard allowed one earned run in eight innings and retired 10 consecutive batters before he tired in the ninth inning.

His only mistake was Fernando Valenzuela’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning.

Saul Gallegos’ one-out single in the sixth tied the score, but Oxnard put only two runners on second base in the final four innings.

Glendale’s bats were silent until the Vaqueros threatened in the ninth and 10th.

“That was playoff intensity,” Glendale Coach Jon Strauss said.

“We’ve done this all year. We play these tight games where pitching and defense count. We’d like to blow people out, but this is the kind of game you have to find a way to win.”