Baseball Falls at Taft in Extra Innings

TAFT, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College baseball program fell, 4-3, in an 11-inning contest at Taft College on Tuesday afternoon. | BOX SCORE

The Bulldogs (2-2) struck first when a sacrifice fly by Trenton Pallas plated one in the opening frame. Both teams remained scoreless through the next five innings until an RBI single by Evan Steinberger put AHC ahead by two in the sixth. The Cougars (1-2) knotted the score with an RBI in the seventh and a homer in the ninth to force extra play. The Bulldogs went up one in the 11th after a sacrifice fly from Kalub Ramirez brought one runner home, but Taft responded by plating two in the bottom of the inning to close the contest. 

Steinberger led the Bulldogs with a 4-for-5 showing at the plate, which included one run and one RBI, while Joey Freitas finished with two hits. Jacob Steels, Vander Hodges, and Jacob Ruley also registered one hit apiece. Steels also successfully stole two bases in the contest while Steinberger stole once. 

Isaac Baez earned the start on the bump. He struck out six batters and allowed just one hit through five innings of action. Lucas Earle scattered four hits, allowed two earned runs, and struck out five after tossing four innings but did not factor into the final decision. Nate Wenzel was charged with the loss after a brief 1.2 inning appearance that featured three strikeouts, three hits, and two runs (one earned). 

The Bulldogs are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, February 5th, with a home contest against College of the Canyons. Tickets for the event, which is set to begin at 2 PM on John Osborne Field, can be purchased by clicking here.