Bulldog Bats Stay Hot, Hancock Baseball Crushes Taft 17-4

Freshmen Josh Harmonay, Quinntin Perez and Nash Ackerman combined for nine hits and 11 RBI.

Bulldog Bats Stay Hot, Hancock Baseball Crushes Taft 17-4
March 2, 2017

Freshmen Josh Harmonay and Quinntin Perez had 4 RBI each, and Nash Ackerman drove in three more to lead the Allan Hancock College baseball team to a 17-4 win over Taft in Santa Maria Thursday afternoon. The Bulldogs, who have outscored their last two opponents by a combined score of 36-6, improved to 5-2 at home and 6-9 overall. Taft fell to 5-8-1.

Hitting in the leadoff position, Harmonay went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI, one walk, two runs, and a stolen base. Perez went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and two stolen bases. Ackerman, who had a career-high 4 RBI in Tuesday's 19-2 win over West Hills, went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. Seven other Bulldogs had a basehit, including Wyatt Coll who went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and three walks. Freshman Dylan Maiden went 1-for-3 with one RBI and scored three times. Maiden also earned the win on the mound, his first at the collegiate level, with three shutout innings of middle relief.

Matt Hamon started on the mound for Hancock but received a no-decision. He allowed four runs, three of which were earned, over four-plus innings. He scattered four hits, two walks and struck out three. Maiden, a Cabrillo High School graduate, allowed two hits and fanned one. Phillip Martin threw a scoreless eighth inning, and Evan Sonny struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

Taft scored single runs in the first two innings against Hamon. The Bulldogs rallied in the third when Perez delivered a two-run single to drive home Wyatt Standley and Harmonay. Brendan Gomez hit a sacrifice fly to center field later in the frame to score Daniel Curiel to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2. Ackerman hit a RBI-single in the fourth to plate Maiden, who had reached on an error in the fourth to give Hancock a 4-2 lead. Taft rallied for two runs in the fifth to tie it 4-4. The two runs were charged to Hamon, who left two batters in to the fifth.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good in the home half when they rallied for five runs. Perez led off with a single and stole second. Coll walked and Walker Armstrong was hit by a pitch to lead the bases. Maiden followed and was plunked by a pitch to foce in Perez to make it 5-4. Standley followed with a run-scoring single to reload the bases. Ackerman was hit by a pitch to force in another run to make it 7-4. Harmonay followed with a basehit to drive in Maiden, and Daniel Curiel laced another single to plate Standley to end the five-run frame.

In the seventh, Maiden led off with a double and later scored on a RBI-single off the bat of Harmonay to make it 10-4 Bulldogs. Chris Taitague doubled home Coll in the eighth to start a seven-run outburst. Ackerman, Harmonay and Armstrong hit RBI-singles in the inning. Perez also drove in two runs with a double.

The Bulldogs will play at College of the Sequoias Saturday, March 4, at 1 p.m. Hancock defeated the Giants 11-1 in Santa Maria last month. The Bulldogs will complete a four-game week Sunday at 1 p.m. at home against Reedley.