CYPRESS, CA – The Cypress Chargers baseball team (20-9, 8-6 OEC) defeated the Irvine Valley Lasers (13-16, 4-10 OEC) in game two of their three-game series 15-1 on Thursday.
Henry Martinez (4-3) received the win for Cypress, allowing only three hits while collecting eight strikeouts in seven shutout inningst. Jason McLellan (1-2) received the loss after allowing four hits, three walks, and one run in three innings.
Willie Aguilar went 3-for-3 with three runs, an RBI, and a walk. Paul Gomez finished 2-for-3 with two runs, three RBI, and a walk.
The Chargers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly from Gomez that scored Aguilar.
Gomez drove in another run with a single to right field in the bottom of the sixth. With Derek Reilly (2-for-5) at the plate the Chargers executed a double steal, advancing Gomez to second and John Zanze (1-for-3) to third. Reilly would score Gomez and Zanze with a hard hit single to left field, giving the Chargers a 4-0 lead to end the sixth.
Cypress picked up where they left off in the bottom of the seventh, adding four additional runs to their lead. Aguilar and Nate Rodriguez (3-for-4) drilled back-to-back RBI singles scoring John Santospago (1-for-3) and Nick Reeser (1-for-4). Irvine pitcher Ryan Abady then threw a wild pitch, allowing Aguilar to score from third and Rodriguez to advance to second base. Gomez followed that up with an RBI single to give the Chargers a commanding 8-0 lead.
The Chargers finished off the game with a seven run rally highlighted by a three run homer from Santospago in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Lasers posted one run in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single from Weston Ellis (2-for-4).
The third and final game of the series will be played this Saturday, April 16th at Irvine Valley College. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm.
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