Glendale Community College baseball relies on defense to defeat Southwestern, 5-3

GLENDALE — Defense and situational hitting proved the difference for the Glendale Community College baseball team in Friday afternoon’s first game of its California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern California Regional series.

The Vaqueros came through with key hits, while robbing visiting Chula Vista Southwestern College on one big occasion in the same situation in what was a 5-3 victory at Stengel Field.

PHOTOS: Vaqueros take 1-0 lead in opening playoff round series against Southwestern

The triumph propelled the Western State Conference South Division champion Vaqueros (20-17) to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series against the Pacific Coast Conference runner-up Jaguars (28-9).

Glendale can close out the series with a victory Saturday morning at 11 when the teams return to action and clinch its fourth trip to the Super Regionals in five years.

For Southwestern, the Jaguars need to win Saturday morning to force a winner-take-all game 30 minutes later.

In either event, the talk Friday centered on some flashy leather.

“Defense won us this game,” Glendale 12-year Coach Chris Cicuto said. “We had some big, big plays – that double play for starters. You put that together with some clutch hits and that’s how we won.”

Cicuto highlighted what may have been the most important defensive play of the game.

With Glendale up, 4-1, in the top of the sixth, Southwestern mounted a one-out rally against Vaqueros starting pitcher Ben McKendall.

The sophomore hurler walked clean-up hitter Roman Garcia (two for three with two runs batted in), which was followed by back-to-back singles from Steven Sherwood and Ray Peterson to load the bases.

McKendall worked a 2-2 count against Daniel Macias before the Jaguars left fielder cracked a line drive that appeared destined for the right-center gap.

The only thing that stopped the potential run-scoring hit was the leaping ability of second baseman Bruno Teramoto, who skied for a one-handed catch and then turned an inning-ending 4-6 double play.

“My defense was behind me 100 percent,” McKendall said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch when you know you have those guys.”

Perhaps as important as the catch was the ability McKendall showed down the stretch to avoid the big inning.

From the sixth inning on, Southwestern placed two runners on in each inning, but never delivered the knockout punch.

Trailing, 5-1, the Jaguars had three hits in the eighth, but only scored one run on a two-out single from Codie Simmons.

Southwestern’s next batter, Spencer Sundahl, bounced out to shortstop to end the inning.

The out was the final one McKendall recorded, as the right-hander gave up a leadoff single in the ninth and was pulled in favor of Andy Frakes.

“I knew I had a short leash in the ninth and when I gave up the hit, I knew I was done,” said McKendall, who allowed three runs on 11 hits in eight innings of work.

Frakes recorded the save despite allowing a run to score.

“That catch was the difference,” said Southwestern Coach Jay Martel, whose club stranded 11 runners, “but give Glendale’s pitcher some credit. He got out of some situations and they got some big two-out hits and we didn’t. Our defense also didn’t help us.”

The Jaguars committed three errors and stymied their own ace Adrian Orozco, who pitched a complete game and allowed five runs (two earned) on 11 hits with eight strikeouts.

After Southwestern opened with a run in the first on a fielder’s choice from Garcia, Glendale answered with two runs in its half inning on a crucial error that was followed by an RBI double from Harrison Hoff (two for four) and a two-out, run-scoring single from Nick Wolyniec.

Glendale took control in the fourth thanks to a two-run double from Jared Akins that plated Alex Gomez and Randy Medellin.

“I was looking for a fastball low and I got it,” Akins said. “I just took a rip.”

Glendale added a run on two errors in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead.

Despite the loss, Southwestern leadoff hitter Daniel Goodrich enjoyed a solid day, going four for five with two runs scored.