Oxnard Baseball Rallies Late to Defeat Bulldogs 8-5

The Allan Hancock College baseball team carried a 5-2 lead through seven innings, but Oxnard rallied for six runs the rest of the way to hand the Bulldogs an 8-5 loss Thursday afternoon. Hancock and Oxnard split their four matchups this season with each team going 2-0 on the road. The Bulldogs fell to 5-9 in Western State Conference play and 5-9 overall. Oxnard improved to 3-11 in league and 13-18-1 on the season.

Sophomores Kyle von Tillow and Walker Armstrong, and freshman Dylan Maiden had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.

Hancock built an early lead with a two-run first inning. With two outs, Maiden delivered a RBI-single allowing Daniel Curiel to score the game's first run. Curiel led off the inning with a base hit. Maiden advanced to second on the throw to the plate, which proved big because he scored later on a RBI-hit off the bat of Armstrong to make it 2-0 Bulldogs.

Oxnard got a run back in the second against Hancock starting pitcher Will Dowell. Hancock answered in the home half after Nash Ackerman led off with a single and von Tillow was hit by a pitch. The two advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Peinado. von Tillow later raced home on a passed ball to make it 3-1 Bulldogs.

The Condors climbed within one by virtue of an unearned run in the fourth. Hancock carried a 3-2 lead until the sixth when Maiden scored on a passed ball, and von Tillow hit a RBI-single to drive home Armstrong to push Hancock's lead to 5-2.

Oxnard came alive in the eighth against Hancock relievers Phil Almanza, Maiden, and Wyatt Standley. Almanza allowed a two-run home run, and Maiden issued three walks and a single. Oxnard scored five times in the frame to take a 7-5 lead. The Condors added an insurance run in the ninth.

Dowell earned a no-decision after he allowed two runs and four hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out three. Almanza was charged with two runs, one of them was earned, in three innings of relief. He allowed two hits, walked two and struck out one. Maiden allowed three runs on one hit and three walks in 1/3 of an inning. Standley pitched the final 1 1/3 innings allowing two hits and one run.

The Bulldogs will host Moorpark at noon on Friday. The game was moved up from 2:30 to 12 p.m. due to the forecast for rain.