The City College baseball team traveled to Santa Ana College on March 19 to take on the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the state. The outcome, however, is still up in the air.

“It’s under protest,” Knights coach Chris Brown said. “The umpire ruled incorrectly on a second visit to the mound.”

The rule is that a coach cannot make two visits to the same pitcher while the same batter is up. In this case, Brown said the umpire told him it was legal before Brown went out to change pitchers on the second visit.

As a result, the Knights will resume the game, starting from the sixth inning with a 5-2 lead on April 23.

Brown said that Santa Ana is on the schedule both to challenge his squad, as well as to improve their RPI, a system that ranks difficulty of schedule and factors into postseason qualification.

The Knights have used their team depth and quality pitching to stay competitive in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference this
season.

“We’ve only had two games this year where our pitching hasn’t kept us in it,” said Brown.

The Knights are still within striking distance of second place Mesa and first place Palomar.

“We’re in a good position,” said Brown.

According to Brown, the team has to eliminate the small mistakes and do a better job of driving in runners in scoring position.

There have, however, been some pleasant offensive surprises.
“(Second baseman) Rich Aguirre is swinging the bat extremely well this year,” said Brown.

The coach added that catcher Kevin Garcia has also been productive at the plate.

“He’s doing a fantastic job and has solidified the number four spot in the line-up,” Brown said.