CYPRESS, CA – No. 4 Cypress College (25-12, 12-9) took game 1 of their SoCal Regional series with an 11-4 victory over No. 13 El Camino (24-13, 13-8) on Friday afternoon.
Tylor Megill (10-1, 3.27 ERA) threw seven innings and surrendered four runs while collecting four strikeouts on the way to his 10th win of the season. Megill's counterpart Cassius Hamm (7-4, 4.47 ERA) surrendered 10 runs and 10 hits in seven innings of work to get charged with the loss. Nick Reeser went 2-for-3 at the plate with four RBI, including a massive three-run homerun that sailed over the left foul pole. Cypress shortstop Paul Gomez went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nick Sablock went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a solo homerun to lead El Camino.
The Chargers held a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning until Sablock launched a solo shot over the center field wall to cut the Cypress lead in half. The following inning, The Warriors struck again with one out and runners on second and third, when center fielder Noah Barba (1-for-4) brought in a run with a groundout. Sablock struck again with a double to center field to help the Warriors tie the game 4-4.
However the Warriors' run would end there. At the bottom of the seventh, with runners on first and second, Nick Reeser crushed a fly ball over the left foul pole to give Cypress a 7-4 lead. Hamm struggled to regain his composure after giving Cypress back the lead, walking Nate Rodriguez (1-for-3), hitting Cory Wildhagen (0-for-2), and then allowing both to advance on a passed ball. With one out and runners on second and third, Angel Ortiz (1-for-3) laid a sacrifice bunt towards first to bring Rodriguez home, giving Cypress an 8-4 lead.
The Chargers onslaught continued in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and runners on second and third, when relief pitcher Sean Mounce threw a wild pitch to allow a runner home. After walking the next batter, Mounce surrendered a sacrifice fly to John Zanze which allowed another run to score. Rodriguez followed up with an RBI double to make it an 11-4 Cypress lead.
Coach Scott Pickler will look to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon when they play their second game of the series at 11:00 am. If necessary, the third and final game is scheduled for 3:00 pm. Admission is $12 for adults and $8 for children and students. Those who have purchased a weekend pass must bring their wristbands to Saturday's game for re-entry.
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