On Thursday, March 14, Mt. SAC baseball’s pitching staff struggled to throw competitive pitches, walking 16 total batters resulting in an 8-3 loss to the Cerritos Falcons.

SAC now sits with a 5-3 record in conference play. After returning to Mazmanian Field after an 11-2 loss to the Falcons in game one of the three-game interconference play, Mt. SAC sophomore RHP Kyle Calzadiaz (16) took the bump for game two hoping to get SAC back into the win column.

The Falcons jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top half of the first as Calzadiaz (16) would walk Falcon’s leadoff hitter sophomore shortstop DJ Massey (1). Freshman third baseman Alonso Reyes (23) from the Falcons would follow up Massey’s walk with a single putting two runners on for the Falcons.

Calzadiaz (16) would get a punchout to record the first out of the game, but would walk his second batter of the inning shortly after. With the bases loaded and still only one out in the inning, a wild pitch from Calzadiaz (16) would give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead. He would close out the inning strong and strike out the next two to escape the jam and limit the damage to one run.

While Calzadiaz (16) would navigate the second inning well and not surrender a run, the third inning would not go as planned. A lead-off walk to Falcon’s sophomore designated hitter Marco Lopez (40) and a single by sophomore first baseman Mike Santos (5) would force head coach John Knott to pull Calzadiaz (16) after only two innings of work. Calzadiaz (16) 2.2 innings of pitching would consist of three hits, four walks, four strikeouts and one run.

Freshman LHP Matt Viveros (14) would take on the tall task of getting out of the third inning with two on and nobody out for Mt. SAC. Viveros (14) did so by striking out the first two batters he would face and inducing a groundout opportunity to Falcon freshman shortstop Joel Gutierrez (6) who would reach second base safely for the unassisted fielder’s choice to end the inning.

SAC’s offense would go without much give as Falcons starting pitcher Franky Lopez (sophomore, 35) would retire the first seven batters he would face until sophomore catcher Daniel Briones (29) would notch a one-out single. SAC could not scratch him across home and left Briones (29) stranded to keep it 1-0.

Viveros (14) would return to the mound in the fourth inning where sophomore left fielder Nico Briones (2) would kickstart the inning with a double roped down the left field line for the Falcons. He would come around to score on a one-out double from Massey (1) at shortstop to make it a 2-0 lead for the Falcons.

Things picked up offensively for SAC in the bottom of the fourth.

With one away, sophomore designated hitter Kaden Moeller (33) roped a double to get SAC baseball its first runner in scoring position. Freshman third baseman Andrew Walters (26) was hit by a pitch to put two on the bases for SAC baseball. Freshman second baseman Nick Mejia (18) took advantage of the situation and ripped an RBI double to bring in Moeller (33) to cut the lead in half and make it 2-1 Falcons.

SAC was not done there as a wild pitch from Falcon’s starting pitcher Franky Lopez (35) would allow Walters (26) to score and even up the score at two a piece. SAC had a golden opportunity to take the lead with runners in scoring position and one away but did not take advantage of it.

SAC made the most of their opportunity in the fifth inning after sophomore outfielder Joey Rosetti (12) got on with a one-out single and advanced on a perfectly executed bunt from freshman right fielder Bryan Bradshaw (24). Gutierrez (6) singled to drive in the run to make it 3-2, giving SAC its first and only lead of the day.

SAC would hold onto their lead until their fifth pitcher of the day, freshman Jaden Mackowiak (25), came into the game with two runners and one out for Alejandro Morales (22, Sophomore).

Mackowiak (25) would walk the first batter he faced to load the bases and hit Massey (1) to even up the game once more. With the bases still loaded, Alonso Reyes (23) would draw a walk to regain the lead for the Falcons at 4-3.

Mackowiak (25), made an illegal move on the mound resulting in a balk and the home plate umpire rewarding Marlon Oviedo (6, sophomore) with home plate to add to the Falcons’ lead. Mackowiak (25) would walk another Falcons hitter to load the bases once more but would get out of it with a strikeout.

SAC’s offense could not keep up with the Falcons following the top of the seventh, going down in order. Mackowiak (25) did his part in the eighth inning with his own 1-2-3 inning. SAC did not take advantage of the scoreless inning as the bottom of the eighth saw a 2-out single from Moeller (33) and a hit by a pitch to put two on for SAC, but could not scratch anything across.

The Falcons would tack on another three in the top of the ninth after Macmowiak (25) gave up a double to Nico Briones (2) and a walk to Oviedo (6). Sophomore RHP Blake Haggerty (23) was called upon to try and keep the game within striking distance for SAC’s half of the ninth.

After striking out the first two, Haggerty (23) was an out away from getting out of a jam but Santos (5) had other plans and would smack a single to drive in Briones (2) and Oviedo (6) to bring across another two runs for the Falcons.

The fifteenth walk of the game allowed by SAC’s pitching staff would load the bases; the sixteenth walk by second baseman sophomore Anthony Bassett (20) would make it 8-3 Falcons. Haggerty (23) would get out of the inning with a strikeout to send the game into the ninth.

SAC put the ball in play in the bottom of the ninth inning, but no loud contact resulted in a 1-2-3 inning to end the game at a final score of 8-3 in favor of Cerritos.

Head coach John Knott addressed the 16 walks issued by his pitching staff and what needs to be done in the future., “You got to attack these guys,” Knott said. “We gave way too many free passes, they didn’t have to knock guys in and in the opportunities they did, they were given free passes and given an opportunity.”

The next home game for SAC Baseball will be on Tuesday, March 19th at 2:00 p.m.