Jewel City squad a winner

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Sako Chapjian figured he would get a hit in the most dramatic of all situations — bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Instead, the Glendale Angelenos baseball player never saw a strike, which suited him just fine.

Chapjian walked on four pitches to bring in the winning run and deliver Glendale a 5-4 home victory against the Orange County Pioneers in a California Collegiate contest on Friday night at Stengel Field.

From a historical perspective concerning the first-year program, it was also the Angelenos’ first league victory.

“I told one of the guys before my at-bat that I would hit a ball up the middle to win the game,” said Chapjian, a Hoover High graduate who also played for Glendale Community College. “I just didn’t get the chance and I had four balls thrown to me.

“[Orange County relief pitcher Brandon Esquede] was wild throughout the entire inning. It’s great to get the win. We are still adjusting to each other, but it won’t take long to start winning a few games in a row.”

Glendale improved to 1-5 in league, while Orange Country dropped to 2-4.

The Angelenos came into Friday’s contest having lost their last three games by two runs or less. They were on the verge of following that pattern until Josh Goossen-Brown tied the game at 4 with a two-run home run to left in the eighth.

Goossen-Brown said the home run instilled confidence that the Angelenos might be able to turn the corner.

“It definitely was a turning point in the game and maybe in the season,” said Goossen-Brown, who hit a 3-1 pitch from reliever Fabian Lopez to tie the game. “We have lost a lot of close games.

“We have the pitching staff to keep us close and now it’s up to our hitters to do it, too.”

Glendale took a 2-0 lead in the first when Alex Muren hit a two-run home run to left. The Pioneers responded with a two-run home run from Greg Zebrack in the third to tie the game at 2.

Orange County took a 3-2 lead in the seventh on a throwing error by the Glendale second baseman and extended the advantage to 4-2 on a run-scoring double by Taylor Richardson.

Glendale Coach Tony Riviera said the Angelenos were determined to snap their losing streak.

“We talked over the last day or two about being a little more patient at the plate,” said Riviera, whose team finished with five hits.