PANTHERS ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES IN CONFERENCE PLAY
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chaffey
|
0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 4 |
|
Cerro Coso
|
0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 16 | 3 |
"It wasn't pretty but we swung the bats very well and overcame a good effort by Coso," commented Head Coach Andy Smith about Tuesday's 16-13 defeat of Cerro Coso College.
The game was relatively tame until the Panthers scored 9 runs in the 3rd inning, a deficit he Coyotes were never able to recover from. Two triples by Jared Bujanda (in the same inning), a double by Matthew Chavez, a balk with Bradley Chesterton on 3rd, a walk with bases loaded to score Cole Howarth and finally a grandslam homerun by Ricky Mejia ultimately sealed the fate for the Coyotes. "Ricky Mejia had himself a special day." It was Mejia's first collegiate homerun.
Another five runs in the 5th and two in the 8th gave the Panthers the unrecoverable advantage. "Emilio Garcia did a great job turning the lineup over in the 9 hole," Smith added.
Josh Sandoval claimed his first win on the mound pitching the starting 3. Nathaniel Garcia, Gabriel Alvarado, James Cantarero, Ethan Bautista, and Brandon Wedge were on relief. When Cerro Coso managed two runs in the bottom of the ninth with two outs putting them in danger of nabbing a walkoff win, Panther closer Ricky Rodarte sealed the deal striking out the final batter of the game and giving the Panthers their third conference win.
The Panthers take on Victor Valley at home Saturday.