Glendale Community College baseball takes down Compton

GLENDALE — One likely couldn’t blame Glendale Community College baseball player Michael Robinson for being a little nervous taking the mound at home Friday night again Compton.

It was the sophomore pitcher’s first start as a Vaquero.

“There was a little bit in the first inning, I’m not going to lie,” Robinson said of nerves. “I didn’t want to disappointment my guys on the bench.”

Robinson did fine, picking up the victory after allowing one run on six hits, while striking out seven in six innings as Glendale defeated Compton 8-3 at Stengel Field in a nonconference game.

The Vaqueros improved to 9-4.

Robinson transferred to Glendale from L.A Harbor College this season. He also pitches for the Glendale Angelenos and has battled an inflammation in his right (throwing) shoulder, thus delaying his Vaquero debut.

“We always knew Michael was going to be good,” said Glendale Coach Chris Cicuto. “I couldn’t be happier for the young man. He’s worked his butt off to get himself healthy and now he’s proved he can be a big part of our staff.”

Robinson benefited from a solid Glendale output at the plate, starting off with four runs in the first inning. The first frame saw nine Vaqueros come to the plate, capped by a two-run double from Mike McAllister.

“My offense did a huge job giving me some run support,” Robinson said of the early cushion. “It’s a huge weight off your shoulders. I was able to get into my rhythm and stay in my rhythm.”

Facing consecutive byes in Western State Conference South play, Cicuto wanted to get some games in, thus the nonconference matchup with Compton.

“We came out here with a bunch of guys that play with passion and really got a great opportunity to get some at-bats and some innings in,” Cicuto said.

The Vaqueros opened up with 14 hits as a team. Oscar Tinjaca had a double and two singles and teammates Carl Daniels, Andre Angel-Bello and Max Fecske each added two hits.

“It just shows how strong the depth of the team is,” Cicuto said. “We’ve got a lot of talented players on this team. The depth of this team is the strongest thing about it. That’s one thing I was extremely happy about seeing is the fact that guys can fill in and go do their things.”