Raiders Rally Late to Edge Hancock Baseball 8-5

Jake Shusterich homered and Daniel Curiel drove in a pair of runs, but Moorpark rallied late to hand the Allan Hancock College baseball team an 8-5 conference loss on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs fell to 7-8 in Western State Conference play and 18-17 overall. The Raiders moved to 8-6 in league and 20-14 on the season.

Hancock got on the board in the first inning against Moorpark starting pitcher Jeremy Polon. Chad Jones was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Curiel. Shusterich, Josh Harmonay and Cordell Bowie walked in succession to force in Jones with the game's first run.

Moorpark answered with two runs in the second inning to take a 2-1 lead as Jason Hyman hit a two-run double.

The Bulldogs responded in the fourth inning as Josh Tonascia walked before Reed Odland and Dylan Maiden singled to load the bases. Jones grounded into a fielder's choice allowing Tonascia to score the tying run. Curiel followed with a two-out, two-run single to give Hancock a 4-2 lead.

The Raiders rallied for one in the bottom half, but Shusterich launched his team-leading seventh home run in the top of the seventh to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 advantage.

The Bulldogs carried their 5-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh when the Raiders rallied for three runs against Cardinal and reliever Ismael Hernandez to take their first lead since the second inning, 6-5. All three runs were charged to Cardinal. Moorpark added two more runs in the eighth to cap the scoring of the game.

The Bulldogs finished with seven hits, compared to nine by the Raiders. Shusterich went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Bowie, Tonascia, Odland, Maiden and Curiel each had one hit.

Cardinal took the loss after allowing six runs and seven hits over six-plus innings. He walked three and struck out three. Hernandez allowed two runs and two hits over two innings. The freshman allowed one walk and struck out one hitter.

Hancock will host Moorpark on Tuesday, April 17, at 3 p.m.