CYPRESS, CA- Charger baseball (27-13) ranked #5 in SoCal, took the first game against the #20 Cerro Coso Coyotes (23-17) on Friday afternoon, 10-8.
The Chargers earned home field advantage to host the entirety of the First Round of the 3C2A SoCal Regionals at Cypress College. The first game of the series brought a back and forth battle between two of the top twenty teams in the SoCal bracket.
The Coyotes pounced early as their aggressive swings put the first run on the board for the lead. A two-out double then an RBI single gave Cerro Coso the advantage in their first opportunity.
The home team began their offense with a leadoff walk from Luke Honikel who found himself on second after an overthrow error pickoff attempt. Albert De La Rosa tied the game with an RBI single up the middle. The Chargers would tally a second run off of a wild pitch to take the 2-1 lead in the first.
Cerro Coso quickly responded as they scored two in the second. With runners in scoring position, a two RBI double cleared the bases. Smart defense by the Chargers infield got the team out of the jam as the Coyotes tied it at three apiece.
Cypress stirred up trouble on the base paths as the bats put runners on first and third. After Cerro Coso attempted multiple pickoff attempts, Cypress drew a balk to jump ahead on the scoreboard. In the third, Honikel extended the lead with a two-RBI double down the first base line.
An inning later, Aaron Perez smacked a run scoring hit for additional insurance. With attention grabbing first and third base running, Cypress stole a run on the base paths for a score of 8-3. To open the fifth, Cerro Coso scored one run from a solo home run to left field.
To follow a scoreless sixth frame, the Coyotes came within one as a three run home run in the seventh made the score 8-7. The home team struck back after the stretch with their blast. Tanner Gerosa led off the seventh with a single and Honikel launched a two-run home run to add key runs to the scoreboard. Though Cerro Coso added a run in the ninth, Cypress managed to take the first game of the series, 10-8.
Leadoff hitter Honikel had a big day at the plate as he went 2-4 with four RBI off of his double and home run. Perez found his way on four times with his 3-4 day with two doubles, a walk and an RBI. On the mound, Evan Adolphus pitched 6.1 frames with five home runs and the win. Tucker Fountain came in for two innings of relief and Logan Groff escaped the jam as he closed out the victory. The Chargers took the first of three from the Coyotes for the 1-0 series lead.
UP NEXT: Cypress will continue their three-game series against Cerro Coso on Saturday, May 6. First pitch at 11am and per 3C2A regulations, Admission will be $12 general, $8 for children under 12 and seniors 55+ (All Sports Season Passes are not accepted for playoffs).
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