TO THE SUPER REGIONAL

The Hornet baseball team took care of business in the first round of the SoCal Regional Playoffs at Santa Barbara City College over the weekend winning two out of three games.

Making SoCal's final 12, No. 14 Fullerton, No. 2 Cypress, and No. 6 Riverside are the only teams still alive from Orange Empire Conference with No. 16 Saddleback falling to No. 9 El Camino, No. 17 Golden West losing to No. 8 Chaffey, and No. 1 Santa Ana getting stunned by No. 15 San Diego Mesa. The Hornets will be heading over to Cypress College next Friday for a three-way with the Chargers and No. 7 Grossmont.

In game one against Santa Barbara City on Friday, Fullerton won in it in 10 long innings 7-4. Tied 4-4 after nine, the Hornets spread their wings in the top of the 10th when Diego Vazquez singled home the go-ahead run that was followed by a two-run single from Dillon Anderson. On the mound, Fullerton's pitching staff held firm. Julian Castro went 6 strong innings, allowing just an earned run with 6 strikeouts. Manny Lopez earned the win after three innings of relief, and Ashton McNaughton slammed the door in the 10th with a clean inning to pick up the save.

In the second game on Saturday morning, the Hornets fell behind early and did their best to pull back in it before losing a close one 7-5. 

In the third and final game played later in the day Saturday, Fullerton did just enough in a gritty 4-3 win to keep the season alive. With the game knotted up at 3-3 heading into the top of the ninth, Noah Rodriguez got on from a single to right field. Dillon Anderson came up hitting one to right field but got out trying to stretch it to a double. Rodriguez was able to sprint to third. With an out on the board and the pressure mounting, Jake Larson came up big with a single to second scoring Rodriguez with the fourth run to break up the stalemate. Manny Lopez finished of the final frame with three consecutive outs to earn the win. It was a collective effort on the mound with starter Sage Nelson going 4.1 innings with 3 earned runs on 4 hits, while striking out one. Ashton McNaughton steadied things with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and 3 strikeouts.

Up Next: The No. 14 Hornets will play in the 3C2A Southern California Super Regional that will include No. 2 Cypress and No. 7 Grossmont. The next round will take place at Cypress College May 8-10.

The 3C2A SoCal Regional Bracket