Six-Run Sixth Inning Leads Hancock Baseball to 12-10 Win over East LA to Open Spring Classic

Sophomore catcher Riley Joyce hit a home run and drove in four runs, while Zach Lampreia drove in three runs as the Allan Hancock College baseball team opened its annual Spring Classic with a 12-10 win over East Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon. The Bulldogs improved to 10-17, while East LA dropped to 11-14.

The Bulldogs recorded 14 hits led by three from designated hitter Justin Daraban, as well as a two apiece from Santa Ynez High School graduate Colby Barrick, Lampreia and Joyce.

A six-run sixth inning turned a 4-3 deficit into a 9-4 advantage. Colton Studebaker led off the inning with a single and stole second base. Shortstop Ellis Gerussi-Turner walked. Freshman Tim Mahoney singled to load the bases and set the stage. Lampreia singled home Studebacker to tie the game 4-4. Hunter Christensen singled in Gerussi-Turner to give Hancock the lead for good 5-4. After Anthony Chavez relieved Jonathan Vance, Daraban greeted him with a RBI-single to score Mahoney to make it 6-4 Bulldogs. Joyce and Guillen followed with sacrifice flies and Barrick singled home Daraban to cap the six-run frame.

East LA scored twice in the seventh, but the Bulldogs responded in the home half when Joyce singled with the bases loaded to drive in Mahoney from third. An error by the East LA shortstop on the play allowed Gerussi-Turner to also score to make it 11-6 Bulldogs. After the Huskies scored three in the eighth to make it a two-run game, Lampreia singled home Barrick in the bottom half to make it 12-9 Hancock.

Making his second start of the season, Skylar Bischoff earned the win for the Bulldogs. The Righetti High School native allowed four runs and seven hits over six innings. The freshman walked two and struck out five. He improved to 2-1 on the season. Relief pitcher John Thomas allowed seven hits and five runs, four of them earned, in one-plus inning. Conner Loeppky earned his first save of the season with two innings of relief. The freshman walked two and allowed one hit and one unearned run.

The Huskies finished with 15 hits led by right fielder Samuel Medina's five hits. Second baseman Brandon Jauregui finished with four RBI.

This year's Spring Classic features five ranked teams, Cypress, the third-ranked team in the Southern California Regional, No. 8 Canyons, No. 12 Cerritos, as well as Fresno, the second-ranked team in the NorCal Regional, and No. 4 Merced.  Also on Wednesday, Cuesta edged Cypress 2-1.

The three-day tournament continues on Wednesday, April 1. East LA plays Canyons at 12 p.m. at Hancock, while Merced battles Canyons at Cuesta College. Cypress plays Fresno at Elks Field in Santa Maria at 1 p.m. On Thursday, Canyons plays Cerritos at 10:30 a.m. at Hancock. Merced and East LA play at Elks Field at noon and Fresno plays at Cuesta at 1p.m. The Bulldogs, who are off on Wednesday, close the tournament at 2 p.m. against No. 3 Cypress.