100TH WIN FOR COACH BAUM!

A late push handed Fullerton a 7-6 win over Golden West at home Friday, while Hornet head coach Chad Baum collected his 100th career victory.

With playoff hopes on the line, the Hornets locked down the conference series over Golden West taking two out of three games with an OEC record of 8-10, which now ties the Rustlers for fourth place.

Golden West scored the first run of the game in the top of the first when EJ Barnes slapped an RBI single to right field scoring Bryan Martinez. The Hornets responded well with 3 runs in the bottom of the first on Luke Viola's single to left. Hunter Billingsley followed with another RBI knock that plated Luke Viola.

In the third inning, EJ Barnes struck again for the Rustlers with an RBI single pulling the score to 3-2, however Fullerton erupted in their half of the inning with a trio of extra-base hits. Billingsley doubled down the left field line, and Noah Rodriguez crushed a 2-RBI triple to left center giving the home team a comfortable 6-2 cushion. But that comfort didn't last.

Golden West chipped away in the fourth when Matt Fox grounded out to short but drove in a run. Kevin Villegas added an RBI single, and JJ Robles crossed the plate on a costly FC error. Landon Runyan then reached on another Hornet error scoring Robles to tie the game at 6.

The stalemate lasted until the bottom of the eighth when Luke Viola came up to the plate ripping a shot up the middle allowing Nate Pone to come in from second for the game winner.

Earning the win was reliever Manny Lopez, who tossed 2 strong innings with 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Sage Nelson got the start on the bump going 3.1 innings with 7 hits against 3 earned runs, had 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts. Ashton McNaughton and Will Valenzuela filled in nicely with no runs scored.

Hired in the summer of 2019, Coach Baum's first two seasons were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has since put together winning campaigns making the playoffs two out of the last three seasons, while moving over 40 student-athletes to the four-year level. Congratulations Coach Baum on your 100th win and may you win many more in the future.

Up Next: The Hornets (18-19 overall, 8-10 OEC) have their final OEC series with Saddleback next week. Game one will take place at Saddleback College on Tuesday, April 22nd at 2:00 pm.