PCC Pitching Staff Secures Baseball Sweep Over AVC

Pat McGee directed his first two victories as Pasadena City College baseball head coach on Saturday, Jan. 31 as the Lancers swept host Antelope Valley College. In the opener, PCC downed the Marauders, 4-3, in 10 innings. The Lancers followed that with a 5-0 blanking of AVC in a game shortened to eight innings due to darkness.

PCC improved to 2-1 thanks to strong pitching from several sources. In game 1, sophomore Jason Marquez hurled three shutout innings of relief, allowing four hits, to earn the victory. Brandon Murfett, the opening day starter last week v. Oxnard, earned the save with a perfect 10th inning while striking out a batter.

The Lancers scored the game-winning run thanks to a pair of AVC errors. Leftfielder Eddy Santana’s sacrifice bunt to the pitcher was misplayed and it resulted in pinch runner Adonis Harrison scoring all the way from second base.

PCC scored three runs in the third inning, two on a single by designated hitter John Sevilla, who went 3-for-5 including a double. Shortstop Thomas Castro continued to play stellar defense (six assists, four putouts) and batted 2-for-4 with two walks while third baseman David Dominguez was 2-for-4. First baseman Joe Quire was 2-for-6 with a double. Those top four batters in McGee’s lineup combined to go 9-for-19.

In the “nightcap,” starter Zach Britt (three innings, three hits, three Ks) and relievers Anthony Mizrahi (1-2/3 innings, no hits, three walks), Joe Willard (2-1/3 innings, no hits, two walks), and Eddie Gutierrez (one inning, one hit) combined for the team pitching shutout and a 4-hitter. Mizrahi picked up the win.

The Lancers erupted for four runs in the fifth thanks to a 2-run single by Quire and a 2-RBI double from Dominguez. In the eighth, a single by catcher Justin Cage combined with two more AVC errors to produce the team’s final run. PCC totaled just five hits.

PCC returns home Tuesday, Feb. 3 for its home opener against Oxnard. First pitch is 2 p.m. at Brookside Park’s Jackie Robinson Memorial Field.