Cypress, CA – Cypress baseball (19-8, 7-5 OEC) closed out their three-game series against Fullerton College (21-6, 9-3 OEC) with an 8-3 loss at home on Saturday. The Hornets won the series 2-1, giving them a two-game lead over the Chargers for second place in the OEC.
Joseph Mercado (2-3) received the loss for Cypress after allowing eight hits and five runs in six innings of work. Louis Corral (3-0) remains undefeated for the Hornets, only allowing two runs and six hits in 7.2 innings.
Derek Reilly (2-for-3) was the lone bright spot for the Chargers at the plate. Reilly hit a double to deep left field in the bottom of the third followed by his first homerun of the season in the bottom of the fifth. David Miranda (3-for-5) led the way for the Hornets with two doubles and an RBI single.
Fullerton got on the board first in the top of the fourth inning with a solo homerun over the left field wall from Shane Carrier (1-for-4). With two on, Joey Parente (2-for-5) ripped a 2RBI single to left giving Fullerton a 3-0 lead.
The Chargers answered in the bottom of the fourth with a run from Nick Reeser (2-for-4) on an RBI groundout by Bo Coolen (1-for-4). Reilly's solo homerun in the fifth cut the Hornets lead to one (3-2).
However, Fullerton capitalized on two Cypress errors and had some timely hits to extend their lead after a five run rally in the seventh. The Chargers managed to cut the deficit to five and loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to capitalize.
Cypress baseball will resume play in their series opener on Tuesday, April 12th at Irvine Valley College. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
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