By PCC | Photo by Michael Watkins Nine straight wins. Twenty-seven consecutive shutout innings pitched. Those are two streaks that are up to date for the Pasadena City College baseball team in its head-to-head meetings with Rio Hondo College. The Lancers seamlessly have picked up where they left off in their recent mastery over the […]
By PCC | Photo by Michael Watkins
Nine straight wins. Twenty-seven consecutive shutout innings pitched. Those are two streaks that are up to date for the Pasadena City College baseball team in its head-to-head meetings with Rio Hondo College. The Lancers seamlessly have picked up where they left off in their recent mastery over the Roadrunners, posting an 11-0 win to open South Coast Conference play Tuesday at Brookside Park’s Jackie Robinson Field.
PCC improved to 7-6 overall and are 6-2 in its last eight games. Rio Hondo fell to 6-6 overall.
Ryan Graves (2-1) hurled 7.2 innings for the mound victory, combining on a 4-hitter with relievers Andrew Fernandez (recorded a strikeout to end the eighth) and Reese Cusiter (scoreless ninth).
The last time Rio Hondo scored a run v. the Lancers was when Chris Rivera slugged a solo home run in the ninth inning of a 16-2 PCC win last year. Over the past 27 innings, PCC pitchers have allowed just 11 hits to RHC bats, outscoring their fellow conference opponent, 28-0. Rio Hondo’s last victory over the Lancers was on April 4, 2017 by a 12-11 count. Pasadena swept the 3-game season series in both 2018 and 2019.
All-American third baseman Marco Martinez is on pace for what could be a legendary season in Lancers lore as he batted 4-for-5 with three doubles and three runs scored. The sophomore raised his average to a team-leading .436. He is tied for second in the state in both on-base percentage (.613) and walks (17) and his 19 RBI is tied for fifth in that category.
Another hot hitter is shortstop Jacob Ogle, who was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI. The lefty-hitting Ogle is 18-for-his-last 43 (.419), including eight multiple-hit games in his last 10. Rightfielder Tai Walton batted 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI while both catcher Jaren Surdo and second baseman Moises Nolasco Sanchez each collected two runs driven in.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, PCC broke through with four runs keyed by Walton’s 2-run triple. The Lancers added three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Pasadena resumes its 3-game series v. Rio Hondo on Thursday, Feb. 20 in a 2 p.m. first pitch at the Whittier campus.
