Baseball's Bats Quieted In Back-to-Back Losses to El Camino

Much of the 2025 season for the Pasadena City College baseball team has been highlighted by the team's potent offense. The state's #6 team in batting average and one averaging more than 10 runs a game going into the series was limited to eight total runs and just 17 hits in losing the final two games of the Lancers' 3-game set v. state #22-ranked El Camino.

After winning the opener 12-7 on Tuesday, PCC (19-12 overall) got beat by the Warriors 10-5 on Thursday and then 5-3 on Saturday at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Field. 

El Camino (23-12) have a 3-win advantage now over the Lancers for fourth place of the South Coast Conference. PCC stands in fifth with a 10-8 SCC mark while ECC is 13-8.

In the finale defeat, Luke Steward shut down the PCC bats with six innings of 3-hit ball, then reliever Slater Nunez hurled the final three frames for the save. Pasadena put together a late rally in the ninth as Devon Eskridge doubled and Isaac Ton was hit by a pitch before Nunez got the next two Lancers hitters out. Down to the final out, Bryan Richman kept his now 22-game hit streak alive with a single through the right side that plated Eskridge and Ton.

Joaquin Salcedo followed with his team-leading 15th double down the right field line that put tying runners on second and third. Nunez though got Adrian Roman to hit a sharp grounder stabbed by first baseman Gil Solis as Nunez beat Roman to the bag in sealing the ECC victory (see story photo).

The PCC pitchers kept the team close as Joe Bacon threw five innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out four. He was followed by Aiden Nunez hurling 2.2 innings of 2-hit shutout ball. 

On April 10 at El Camino, PCC fell behind 6-0 thanks in part to two home runs hit by Dylan Mares. Warriors starter Adrian Pineda (7-2 record) held PCC scoreless over the first five innings. The Lancers sliced the lead to three with three runs in the sixth, two on an Evan Nahra double. ECC responded with four runs in the seventh, including a 2-run double by Gio Crow, to put the game out of reach. 

Nahra did launch a 2-run homer to right center in the eighth and finished 2-for-4 with four RBI. Richman went 3-for-5 with a double, and both Tyler Garcia and Roman were 2-for-5. 

Pasadena is 2-5 in its last seven contests and now encounter a 3-game series v. SCC leader and state #2-ranked Mt. San Antonio (29-5, 16-2 in conference) April 15-19.

The opener falls on April 15--the 78 anniversary of PCC/Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Robinson breaking the then color barrier in professional baseball when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. A bronze bust in Robinson's image stands in the Dick Ratliff Court of Champions on campus, next to Robinson Stadium. The football/track/soccer facility is named after both Jackie and his brother Mack Robinson, an Olympic silver medalist.

First pitch for the series starter v. the Mounties is 2 p.m. at the diamond also named after the legendary Jackie Robinson.