SAN DIEGO – For the majority of the 2023 season, the Grossmont College Griffins baseball team could be said to be in a team-wide slump. Well, that slump is over as the Griffins defeated San Diego Mesa on Saturday, March 4 by a 20-7 score in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference matchup.
Grossmont (8-6, 1-1 PCAC) scored early and often as they scored at least a run in seven of the nine innings.
Five Griffins had multi-hit days led by DH Juan Nunez who went 4-for-5 with five RBI. Nevan Noonan also had five RBI (three coming on sacrifice flies) on 2-for-3 hitting that included a solo home run, team-leading fourth of the season, in the eighth inning.
Skyler Agnew ((1st) 1 on, 2nd inning)), Ethan Caschetta ((1st) 2 on, 5th inning) and Brodie Romero ((1st) none on, 9th inning) all joined in the home run fun with Noonan.
Kyle Dobyns (3-0) picked up the win with five innings pitched allowing three hits, three walks, and one earned run while striking out seven. A quintet of pitchers came in to close out the ballgame for the Green and Gold.
The big inning offensively for Grossmont was the fifth inning when they scored eight runs on six hits. Noah Lane (2-5, run scored) singled to get the frame underway. After a flyout, Agnew (3-4, two runs scored, three RBI) doubled to bring in Lane. Luke Denos (1-6 with two runs scored) reached on a fielding error which moved Agnew to third. UCONN Bound Zavien Watson walked (1-2, 4 runs scored, 2 walks) to load the bases up. Luke Mansy (3-4, four runs scored, one RBI) was hit by a pitch to get his RBI the painful way. Nunez singled to bring in Denos and Watson making it 11-0. Noonan followed with a single to plate Mansy to make it a dozen. That was enough according to the Mesa (3-12, 1-1 PCAC) coaching staff and they brought in a new pitcher. Caschetta (1-4, run scored, four RBI, sacrifice fly) banged off the scoreboard in left field on one of the first few pitches by the new pitcher to close out the scoring in the inning.
The Griffins will return to Noel Michelson Field on Tuesday when they face San Diego City College (10-6, 0-2 PCAC) with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
NOTES: In an odd occurrence the two other PCAC games ended in 2-1 scores on Saturday. Imperial Valley and Palomar both won, with Palomar turning the trick in ten innings.