EL CAJON – At one point it looked like the Grossmont and Palomar game on Tuesday, April 11 was going to be low scoring. Then the final three innings happened and what looked like a low scoring game because high scoring pretty darn quick.
Palomar would go on to win the game by an 11-10 score to narrow their magic number to clinch the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference to five.
Five Griffins (14-12, 7-7 PCAC) had multi-hit games with Luke Mansy leading the way with a 3-for-5 day. Ethan Caschetta, Brodie Romero, Juan Nunez and Noah Lane all had a pair of hits in the festivities. Both Caschetta (6th) and Romero (5th) had half of their hits left the yard.
Palomar (25-5, 16-0 PCAC) were held to only one run until the last third of the game.
The Griffins got on the board first in the bottom of the second. With two out, Skylar Agnew drew a walk. Nunez singled up the middle to move Agnew to second. Lane doubled over the head of the centerfielder to drive in both Agnew and Nunez making it 2-0 G-House. Caschetta would hit a single to left to bring home Lane and a 3-0 lead.
The Comets would score a run in the top of the third to make it 3-1 Grossmont.
That is how the game would stay until the sixth inning when the Griffins were the beneficiary of a pair of Comet fielding errors. Luke Denos reached to lead off the inning when the Comet's second baseman had a throwing error. Romero was hit by a pitch to move Denos to second. Agnew laid down a wonderful sacrifice bunt but was even luckier when the first baseman misplayed the ball to load the bases up. Nunez drove in Denos with a sacrifice fly to left field. Sadly, that was all the Griffins could score in the frame.
Grossmont pitching has kept the really big innings to a minimum this season. Sadly, that was not the case in the seventh inning. Palomar, for the 15th time this season, scored six (or more) runs this season to take a 7-4 lead.
The Griffins started the comeback after the stretch. Zavien Watson, who committed to go to UCONN before the season started, walked to begin the inning. After a flyout, Nevan Noonan (6th) launched a ball to left field that would not come back and brought the Griffins to within one run at 7-6. Denos walked to keep the rally going. Romero singled to left to move Denos up 90 feet. Agnew walked to load the bases full of Griffins. However, that is where the rally would end as Palomar pitching would get back-to-back strikeouts.
Palomar would add another four runs, that was assisted by a pair of Griffin errors.
In the bottom of the eighth, Caschetta would lead off the frame with his home run to right field. Mansy would single after an out. Nevan Noonan reached base on Palomar's third error of the day to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout, Romero would launch a fastball down the left field line for a three-run homer and pull the Griffins to within one again at 11-10.
Palomar would bring in their closer to close the game out.
Grossmont will make up a game against San Diego Mesa on Wednesday, April 12. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. On Thursday, the Comets will return to Noel Michelsen Field to play the middle game of the series, that first pitch will also be at 2:00 p.m.
AGNEW GOING TO HAWAI'I AS WELL
On Tuesday night, just a few hours after the game, Grossmont infielder Skylar Agnew announced he is going to attend Hawai'i Pacific University (PacWest Conference, Division II) next year.
Hawai'i Pacific is currently 16-22, 11-15 which is good for seventh place out of nine teams. Fresno Pacific and Azusa Pacific are the top two teams in the conference.