Ranked No. 18 In SoCal, Baseball Edges Cerro Coso, 3-2

Ranked No. 18 in this week's California Community College Baseball Coaches Association SoCal Top 20, the Pasadena City College baseball team snapped a 2-game losing streak Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over Cerro Coso at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Memorial Field.

If you were wondering when was the last time a Pasadena City College baseball team was ranked in any poll--the answer is not anytime in the last quarter century and certainly never since the baseball coach's association began rankings that went public in recent years. 

PCC is 7-2, the first time a Lancers team was five games over .500 since 2001 when the Lancers were 16-10 before a late-season slump dropped them to 20-20 that year.

Leftfielder Nico Martinez (fourth inning), catcher Jessie Garcia (sixth) and first baseman Jeremy Conant (seventh) all had RBI singles to help Race Gardner secure the pitching win with six innings of 4-hit ball, one run, one walk and eight strikeouts. Sergio Valenzuela got the hold with two innings of shutout relief and John Mendoza earned the save despite giving up an unearned run in the ninth. 

Conant was 2-for-3 and is batting .429 overall. Martinez is the early state leader in batting with a .526 average (10-for-19) and in on-base percentage at .667 (28 plate appearances including four walks and four hit-by-pitches drawn).

Coach Pat McGee's Lancers travel to face Citrus Thursday, Feb. 23 in a 2 p.m. non-conference game.