Fullerton players celebrate after Tuesday’s Empire League win over Laguna Hills. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
Fullerton’s baseball team erupted for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break open a tie game and went on to defeat Laguna Hills 7-1 in an Empire League game Tuesday afternoon at Fullerton.
The Indians (12-4, 4-0) remained undefeated in league and won their third consecutive game.
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Arizona State-commit Declan Fitzgerald struck out 10 batters and yielded only two bunt singles in five innings of work for Fullerton. The senior right-hander threw 78 pitches and looked sharp after returning form a 10-day layoff due to a strained neck.
“My fastball, slider and curveball were working and it felt good to get 10 punch-outs (strikeouts),” said Fitzgerald. “We’re fired up to get another league win.”
“Declan was throwing 95 MPH and his pitches were firm,” said Caleb Brown, Fullerton’s catcher, who had two hits, including a key RBI in the sixth inning. “He was pretty awesome, like he normally is.”
Gavin Talavera and Zayyir Miramontes closed out the game for the Indians by setting the Hawks (7-7, 3-3) down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to preserve the win.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Fullerton’s first eight batters reached base as the Indians pounded out seven hits and pushed across six runs.
Mason Park led off the sixth with a double to right center. Brown broke the tie with an RBI single, scoring Park.
On the play, Brown took second on the throw to the plate. Luke Gonzalez then walked. Logan Thien followed with a single to left and Laguna Hills left fielder Matco Brown-Corrada made a perfect throw to home plate to cut down Brown on a close play at home.
Hawks starter Joseph Skala was relieved by Owen Rose. Mateo Ramirez, Lucas Delgadillo and Ronny Martinez drilled three consecutive doubles, scoring four runs, to break the game open. Sammy Chacon followed with an RBI single to cap the Indians rally.
“I was a little nervous when I came to bat in the sixth inning,“ said Ramirez, a Sunny Hills’ transfer, who’s sixth inning two-run double off the top of the left center field fence upped Fullerton’s lead to 4-1. “I went 0-for-3 in our last game and I wanted to hit the ball on the barrel on the bat and come through for my team.”
Chacon added that he was pleased to come through in a big moment of the game.
“I wanted to put the ball in play and get a run over,” said Chacon, who had two hits and two RBI in the game, including RBI single in the third inning that gave Fullerton a 1-0 lead. “I felt calm at bat and I was looking for a fastball and I got it. It’s a big league win for us.”
The first four Laguna Hills batters bunted to lead off the top of the fifth inning. Christian Sigaty bunted to lead off the inning and as Fitzgerald went to field the ball, he slipped and Sigaty beat the throw to first.
A wild pitch and one batter later, Nate Medina laid down a perfectly placed bunt that scored Sigaty and tied the score at 1-1. Fitzgerald then retired the next three hitters to end the Hawks’ rally.
Indians Coach Shaun Hill said it was a critical win for his team.
“We had good at bats but they played great defense and prevented us from scoring more runs earlier in the game,” said Hill. “However, I felt at some point we were going to break it open. Now, we need to go and win the series from them on Friday. Winning today makes our practice tomorrow a lot easier. The guys won’t feel stressed out.”
Skala was effective through the five innings, only allowing one run. However, the Indians rallied in the sixth and changed the tide of the game.
“Skala pitched well for us; he got a double play to end the third inning and only allowed one run,” said Laguna Hills Coach Drew Hillman. “He had one tough half-inning and they opened things up.”
Medina reached base three times for Laguna Hills and had the Hawks only RBI.
Note:
—Declan Fitzgerald, pitching for the first time in 10 days, struck out our four batters in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Nate Medina struck out to lead off the game, but reached first base following a passed ball on a third strike. Fitzgerald then struck out the next three Hawks hitters in order.
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