The City College baseball team evened up its record at 3-3 with a pair of come-from-behind wins at Morley Field on Feb. 12. The Knights beat Pasadena City College 13-4 and then defeated West LA City College 11-9.
Against Pasadena, the Knights were unable to mount much offense for the first four innings against Lancers starter Brett Smith. In the fifth inning, however, City College’s bats sprang to life in a big way. The Knights plated ten runs, led by first baseman Dylan Garcia, who had four RBI and two triples in the inning. Catcher Kevin Garcia and center fielder Antonio Carrillo also had a nice day at the plate as each went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs.
In the fourth inning, Gilbert Guardado made every right fielder’s favorite play by throwing out a runner at first base on what appeared to be a line-drive base hit. He delivered a perfect throw right on the bag to easily put out Lancers first baseman Adan Carbajal.
On the mound against Pasadena, the Knights looked sharp. Starter Brian Shanahan went six solid innings, yielding three runs on five hits while striking out five. Shanahan said he felt good on the mound and found a comfort zone with his fastball and curveball but had a hard time finding the release point on his split-fingered fastball.
The last three frames were pitched by David Johnson, Zak Hile and Justin Dalton. Each pitched one inning, allowing a total of three hits.
The afternoon affair against the West LA Wildcats was more of a battle. The Knights couldn’t hold an early two-run lead but continued to scratch out runs to stay in the game before taking the lead for good in the seventh inning. Antonio Carrillo had the clutch hit this time, a bases loaded triple that tied the game at nine. Carrillo went on to score the eventual game-winning run on a wild pitch.
On the mound against the Wildcats, freshman pitcher Mark Vasquez got his first start of the season. Vasquez pitched well early on but struggled in the middle innings. Middle reliever Mitch Hamels earned the win and Andrew Riggins notched his first save. The game was called after eight innings due to darkness.
The Knights were optimistic following two comeback wins on the afternoon. “I think we’re going good,” said game one starter Shanahan. “We’re playing solid D and our hitting is coming around. I think we’ll give everyone a run for their money.”
Catcher Kevin Garcia injured his hand on a swing during the second game. He appeared to be in quite a lot of pain as he came off the field and could miss significant time if it turns out to be a break, as some in the crowd speculated. Nick Parisi caught the remainder of the game for the Knights.
Coach Chris Brown leads the Knights into league play on Saturday February 26 at Morley Field against Southwestern College.
