Of all the South Coast Conference opponents, El Camino College has been the biggest thorn in the side of the Pasadena City College baseball program since Pat McGee took over as head coach back in 2015. It took eight seasons, but McGee's Lancers finally got the best of the Warriors this season in winning their 3-game series this week, 2-games-to-1.
PCC was 2-18 v. El Camino, including twice losing best-of-3 regional playoff series in 2017 and 2019, but the Lancers turned that around with victories at El Camino, 4-2, on Tuesday, and at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Field on Friday, 5-2. While the Warriors salvaged the third game, 17-3, on Saturday also at Brookside, the Lancers can savor the series victory.
Pasadena is 4-2 in the SCC and 11-6 overall while El Camino moved to 10-8 and 3-3. With the heavy rain over the past few weeks affecting schedules, only PCC has as many as four South Coast wins with several teams at three wins.
"It's a big step for our program if only to show our players that we can match up with them," McGee said. "To have it happen in a week where we were forced to play four conference games makes it a sweeter accomplishment. So many of our players stepped up when it counted. Things didn't go our way in the finale, but trying to sweep anybody in our conference is a difficult feat."
For a few moments, PCC thought about a sweep when catcher Matt Rice singled in a pair of runs that gave the Lancers a 2-1 lead in the third inning. From that point on El Camino's bats awoke, including scoring seven runs in the fourth and nine more in the sixth. Ethan Felix homered twice in that long, sixth inning while Warriors' teammate Dylan Knowles finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle. The pair combined to hit 7-for-10 with nine RBI, six extra-base hits and 20 total bases.
Reliever Ben Griffith was one of the few PCC players who stood out by pitching two no-hit innings over the second and third. Justin Goldman pitched two scoreless innings as well, allowing no hits as the last of seven PCC pitchers used in the game.
In Friday's win, Coleman Mitchell, an All-SCC starter a year ago, pitched seven strong innings, allowing just five hits, one run, a walk while striking out three to improve to 4-1. Closer Rider Gardner shut the door with two solid innings as he is now tied for the state lead in saves with five. Mitchell has an impressive 1.12 WHIP and his four mound victories ties him with several players for second in the state. He walked just four batters in 34 innings this year with a 2.91 ERA. Gardner has made nine appearances in short relief (one win) and holds a 2.30 ERA in 15.2 innings (13 Ks).
Offensively, first baseman Jake Trabbie went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI single in the fourth that plated what proved to be the game-winning run to give PCC a 3-1 lead. Second baseman Ivan Barragan went 2-for-3 with two RBI while catcher Matthew Delgado and centerfielder Tommy Castillo each delivered sacrifice flies. Leftfielder Aryonis Harrison was 2-for-5, scorinng two runs with stolen bases.
Defensively, Castillo may have set some sort of PCC fielding record by catching 12 fly ball and line drive outs, including the final out of the contest.
In the opener on Tuesday at ECC, several heroes emerged starting with pitcher Kyle Noell, who threw six impressive innings, allowing three hits, two unearned runs, with just one walk in a no-decison. Tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth, lefty-hitting designated hitter Jakob Guardado hit the game-winning RBI, an opposite field double. Barragan added a RBI single in the ninth for a 2-run cushion.
After reliever Patrick Garcia worked his way out of the seventh with two runners on by striking out two batters, he was relieved by Griffith in the eighth.
Harrison would make the defensive play of the game behind Griffth. With runners on first and second, Harrison made an amazing catch running into the left field fence on a drive hit by Daniel Murillo, only to fall back and do a somersault on the warning track with the ball some how hanging like a snow cone at the top of his mitt. If the ball drops, El Camino would have taken a 4-3 lead. Instead it ended the eighth with PCC ahead 3-2.
Griffith struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save with Garcia getting the win. Both firsts for the two relievers.
"Aryonis is one of the best defensive outfielders I've seen at the community college level," McGee said. "He makes so many catches, running a long way, look easy. I can't believe how many times he has saved us with a diving catch or a big play like the one on Tuesday. He's done it so often, you almost expect it from him despite the odds against making the play."
On Tuesday, Mar. 7, the Lancers begin a 3-game series v. Cerritos College at their Norwalk opponent's diamond.
Coleman Mitchell fires a pitch during Friday's victory
