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Pacifica players from left catcher Jayson Juarez, Aiden Marquez, Junior Zendejas and Ayden Valdez contributed to Saturday’s win. (Photo: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
The Pacifica High School baseball team rallied for six runs in the seventh inning and registered a 6-2 come-from-behind victory over Fullerton in a non-league game Saturday afternoon at Fullerton.
The Mariners (14-6), currently undefeated in Empire League play, have won nine of their last 11 games and defeated the Indians for the third consecutive time. Fullerton (15-6), which is in first-place and undefeated atop the Freeway League, had its five-game winning streak snapped.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Mariners sent 11 batters to the plate against three Fullerton pitchers and rallied for six runs to record a dramatic win. Aiden Marguez led off the inning with a towering home run over the left field fence off Fullerton reliver Cash Coffman to cut the lead to 2-1.
“I wanted to get on base and give my team a lift,” said Marguez, who had three hits, scored a run, had a stolen base and had three RBI in the game. “We showed we really have some heart to come back and win a game like this.”
One out later, Nolan Caira followed with a walk.
Junior Zendejas singled and Caira stopped at second. The next play would generate some controversy and change the course of the game. Jayson Juarez hit a line drive down the right field line behind first base. The ball appeared to land in foul territory but the home plate umpire ruled it fair.
Caira hustling on the play, scored to tie the game at 2-2. Zendejas ended up at third and Juarez at second. Fullerton Coach Shaun Hill disputed the call with the home plate umpire, who huddled with the other umpire, but didn’t change the call.
“It was fair all the way, 100 percent,” said Juarez, following the game in reference to his seventh inning hit. “We didn’t give up, we persevered. Now we have to get ready for a couple of big games against Tustin this week.”
Hill then replaced Coffman on the mound with Logan Davis. Davis issued an intentional walk to Joshua Pearman to load the bases. Christian Tharasena followed with a RBI single to make it 3-2.
Victor Cardona was then hit by a pitch to force in a another run, extending Pacifica’s lead to 4-2. Spencer Groff followed with a sacrifice RBI fly off reliver Jared Dibble as the Mariners upped its lead to 5-2. Marguez made it 6-2 after smacking a RBI single to complete the Pacifica rally.
Hill said the umpires missed the call, but he added that Fullerton squandered earlier scoring opportunities in the game.
“It was a disaster,” said Hill, referring to the fair ball call on Juarez’s hit. “It was a bad call in a big situation. We didn’t lose the game in the seventh inning; we lost it in the early innings of the game when we didn’t score more runs when we had the opportunity. We let a good team stick around and they got the job done.”
Ayden Valdez came on to pitch the seventh for the Mariners and gave up a bad hop single to Armando Gonzalez to lead off the inning before the Pacifica’s infield executed a 4-6-3 double play. Valdez then retired Mason Park to end the game.
“My boys had a big comeback and it was my job to shut them down and close out the game,” said Valdez. “It was a great feeling to win this game and I was just happy to be a long for the ride.”
Zendejas said his team really wanted to win this game.
“We had good at bats late in the game and we showed we have fight in us,” said Zendejas, who had two hits and scored the go ahead run in the seventh. “Fullerton is a really good team and we really wanted to win this game.” .
The Indians pushed across single runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead going into the final inning.
Mariners Coach Mike Caira said he wasn’t sure about the controversial play.
“I had the worst view of the hit; I was coaching third base and I didn’t really see the play,” said Caira, who is in his 18th year as head coach of Pacifica. “But that’s baseball and that’s why it takes 21 outs to win. I’ve been on the other end of games like this. We have a veteran group. These guys have been in the fire before and have played some of the top teams around over the past two years, they’re seasoned. We grinded it out and we came through.”
Declan Fitzgerald started for Fullerton and went four innings and gave up just one hit and struck out three before being replaced by Coffman in the fifth inning. Trent Kinkade started on the hill for Pacifica and gave up three hits, two runs and struck out three before yielding to Adam Louiso in the fifth inning.
—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
