BASEBALL: HORNETS MOVE PAST #2 GLENDALE
#17 Fullerton won the 1st Round of the SoCal Regionals against the #2 Vaqueros in two games.
#17 Fullerton won the 1st Round of the SoCal Regionals against the #2 Vaqueros in two games.
In game one on Friday, the Hornets and Vaqueros battled it out for thirteen innings with FC coming out on top 4-3.
The Hornets were down 1-0 heading into the seventh, until Josh Balbuena hit a double bringing Shane Carrier home. Kevin Foley then flied out to right field, and David Miranda tagged up scoring from third. FC went up 2-1.
In the eighth, Austin O'Banion added to Fullerton's lead going up 3-1 on a solo homer.
In the Vaqueros next at-bat, they managed a run on a Frank Garriola drawn walk with the bases loaded forcing Ricky Perez home. FC led 3-2.
Glendale tied up the score at 3-3 in the ninth sending the game into extras on Kamalu Neal's single scoring Christian Montes.
Austin O'Banion sealed the victory for the Hornets blasting his second solo homer of the day (6th of the season) over the right field fence in the top of the thirteenth inning.
Dylan DeChavez (3-0) earned the win going 3 innings while allowing only 3 hits with 1 strikeout. Starter Anthony Parente went 7.2 innings allowing 3 hits, 2 earned runs with 2 strikeouts.
In game two on Saturday, Fullerton managed a late 3-2 come-from-behind victory advancing the Hornets to the 2nd Round of the SoCal Regional Playoffs.
Frank Garriola made a statement in the top of the first hitting a solo shot over the fence, however Fullerton followed that with a solo shot by Justin Row (5th of the season) in the bottom of one.
The Vaqs took the lead in the second on a single by Zach Mausser scoring Ricky Perez.
Down 2-1 until the eighth inning, FC's Kevin Foley came up to bat with the bases loaded. He then lifted the Hornets past Glendale hitting a double to left scoring two runners.
Fullerton closer Chris Sanchez grabbed his second save helping secure 3-2 win. Starter Louis Corral (5-0) nabbed the win going 8 strong innings giving up 5 hits, 2 earned runs, and totaled 2 strikeouts.
Up Next: The 2nd Round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs against #4 Cypress College. The first game of the best-of-the-three series will be on Friday, May 13th at 2:00 pm. Game two will be on the following Saturday at 12:00 pm. If needed, game three will be on Sunday at 12:00 pm.
*Photo by Ricardo Zapata
