On the final stop before playoffs for the 2018 South Coast Conference Champions, Mt. SAC Baseball ended their regular season with a 6-3 win over East Los Angeles College at Mazmanian Field on Friday, April 27.
After a scoreless first inning, the Mounties took the initiative when Quinn Cotter stole second base with help from a defensive miscue by the visitors, and later scored a run off a single from Elijah Zaragoza in the bottom of the second inning.
The Huskies had a chance to answer back in the third, loading the bases up with no outs, but failed to score as Zach Bromstead retired the next three batters to escape the jam.
In the bottom the inning, the Mounties asserted themselves again, when South Coast Conference MVP Elijah Greene homered for the seventh time this season to put Mt. SAC up 2-0.
“[The ball] was in my happy zone and my dad always told me if it’s in your happy zone you better drive the ball because you’re not going to get another pitch,” Greene said on his solo home run after finishing 3-4 with a walk.
Bromstead controlled the game from the mound until the fifth, where the visitors tied it up on a two-run double from East Los Angeles’ Zach Jarrard that ended the Mt. SAC pitcher’s night.
However, Anthony Walters came to the rescue in the bottom of the inning, smashing a three-run shot over the centerfield wall to regain the lead for the Mounties, 5-2. This was the tenth home run for Walters this season and third in his last three games.
Walters left in the seventh inning with a leg injury after trying to avoid a tag heading towards second base.
The Mounties added to their lead when Brandon Bradshaw doubled over the outstretched glove of the left fielder to bring Ryon Knowles home.
East Los Angeles tried to rally in the top of the eighth with Logan Gibbons scoring off a single from Joaquin Castillo, but the Mounties maintained control of the game and secured the 6-3 victory.
“I thought our guys did a good job of persevering and not giving up. Things didn’t really go our way early on but we chipped along,” Mounties head coach and South Coast Conference Coach of the Year recipient, John Knott said after the game.
“[Elijah Greene] had a huge home run and Walters had a huge three-run home run. Our pitchers made huge pitches when it counted.”
Greene praised the Mounties’ pitching for getting out of a few jams throughout the game
“That was very clutch by our pitching, [Bromstead] struck out the guy and it was really good pitching throughout,” Greene said.
Mt. SAC finished the regular season with a 17-5 conference record, 29-11 overall, and now set their sights on the postseason.
“We wanted to see this thing through and it was really about us getting better and continuing to improve,” Knott said.
“We should be motivated every time we play. Some people might not think that, but our mentality is to focus one game at a time.”
The South Coast Conference Champions sit as the fourth seed in the Southern California Regional bracket and will host the 14th seed Santa Barbara College (20-20) in a best-of-three games series.
Game one is set for Friday, May 4 with first pitch at 2 p.m. at Mazmanian Field, while game two will be on Saturday, May 5 at 11 a.m.
If necessary, game three will take place in the afternoon immediately following game two at 3 p.m.