CYPRESS, CA- Charger baseball (17-5, 5-2 OEC) take series opener against the Fullerton Hornets (15-11, 3-4 OEC) on Thursday afternoon, 7-6.
In the bottom of the second, Albert De La Rosa lined a ball off of the top of the left field wall for a stand up double to begin the Cypress offense. With bases loaded later in the frame, Isaac Rodriguez singled in the game's first run as the base runners went station to station. Kane Yonamine followed with a double down the right field line to tally two RBIs. Leadoff hitter Luke Honikel repeated with a double of his own to score two and make it 5-0 at the end of the second.
Fullerton responded in the third inning with a run off of a Charger error throw. Two frames later, the Hornets created trouble on the base paths for the Cypress defense. With a two RBI single, the visiting team cut the deficit to two runs for a 5-3 score. In the bottom of the fifth, the Chargers scored a run when the Hornets first baseman committed an error.
The Hornets knocked out the Cypress starting pitcher with a home run over the left field wall to stay within two in the sixth. After the Chargers bat went out quickly in the bottom of the inning, Fullerton worked to make a comeback. With bases loaded and no outs, the visiting team tallied a run off of a groundout. Off of a sacrifice fly out, the Hornets tied the conference matchup at six apiece.
Cypress had an immediate answer as they took back the lead after the seventh inning stretch. Honikel led off the Cypress bats with a single then advanced to second from a passed ball. In the two-out plate appearance, De La Rosa came in clutch with an RBI hit to regain the edge. Though the visiting Hornets got bases loaded in their final opportunity, Logan Groff sealed the win for the home team and finished the game, 7-6.
De La Rosa had an incredible day on both sides of the ball with clutch plays in the later innings. He was 4-4 at the plate with an RBI, run scored and had great defensive putouts at the shortstop position. Honikel had a multi-hit game with his 2-4 day, two RBIs and run scored. Yonamine tallied a run scored and two RBIs off of one hit. Evan Adolphus started the game and went 5.0 frames that allowed four runs and struck out four. Josh Landry came in for an inning of relief and struck out one. Groff pitched the last three innings, limited any further damage and struck out one in the process. With the win, Cypress remained alone at third place in the Orange Empire Conference.
UP NEXT: The Chargers continue the three-game series at Fullerton College on Friday, March 24th. First pitch will be at 1pm.
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