CYPRESS, CA – The #4 Cypress College baseball team (30-13, 12-9) completed their sweep of #5 Grossmont (31-11, 19-5) with a hard-fought 11-10 victory in game two on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman pitcher Andrew Quezada (9-3) went 7.2 innings to receive the win. Quezada allowed 11 hits and 7 earned runs while recording 8 strikeouts. Grossmont starter Donavon McCrystal (10-1) was previously undefeated before receiving a loss against the Chargers on Saturday. McCrystal allowed 11 runs, including 8 earned runs in 2.2 innings on the mound. Willie Aguilar continued his success in the postseason, finishing 2-for-5 with 5 RBI and a home run. Aaron Case (2-for-4) added 2 RBI and 3 runs.
Much like game one on Friday, the Chargers jumped out to an early lead over the Griffins. Cypress lead-off man Aaron Case reached first on an error by the shortstop. Brandon Gonzalez (2-for-4, RBI) followed up with a single; however Case and Gonzalez each advanced on another error by the shortstop. With runners on second and third, Aguilar launched a 2 RBI triple to centerfield, giving Cypress a 2-0 lead. Elijah Skipps (1-for-5, RBI) grounded out to short but was able to score Aguilar from third.
The Chargers continued to come up with timely hits and capitalize on Grossmont errors in the second and third innings. Logan Swofford (1-for-3, RBI) hit an RBI double to left field after Paul Gomez walked. When Case laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Swofford, the pitcher made an errant throw to first which allowed Case to reach second and Swofford to score. Gonzalez followed up with a sacrifice fly to score Case. With a 6-0 lead in the top of the third Cypress went on a 5 run rally to extend their lead. Case hit a 2 RBI single to centerfield followed by a 3-run bomb over the left field wall from Aguilar for his fourth home run of the season.
Trailing 11-0 with their season seemingly coming to an end, Grossmont answered the challenge with 10 unanswered runs of their own. Michael Diffley (2-for-4) put the first run on the board for Grossmont when he advanced home from third while Cabot Van til was caught in a rundown. Grossmont posted 3 more runs in the fourth when Travor Beard (2-for-5, 4 RBI) blasted a 2 RBI triple to right field and then scored on a Justen Burkey (1-for-4, RBI) groundout. Down 11-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Grossmont loaded the bases with one out. Griffins DH Justin Mitchell (2-for-5, 4 RBI) stepped to plate and hit a grand slam over the right field wall, cutting the Griffins deficit to just 3.
The Chargers were clinging to an 11-8 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Grossmont lead-off man Noah Strohl (1-for-4) was hit by Cypress reliever Henry Martinez to start off the inning. Martinez followed up with huge back-to-back strikeouts before allowing a Beard to hit a 2-run homer. With a 1 run lead and only 1 out away from a State Championship appearance, Martinez recorded his third strikeout of the inning and fourth of the game to seal it for Cypress.
The Chargers will travel to Fresno, CA on Labor Day Weekend for the four-team double-elimination State Championship Tournament (Saturday, May 28th-Monday, May 30th). Orange Empire Conference rival Golden West will join Cypress College as the teams to advance from the south, while Santa Rosa and San Joaquin Delta will represent the north. Cypress will open up against Santa Rosa on Saturday, May 28 at 6:00 pm.
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