College Baseball:
Matt Lorenzano sure picked a good day to toss Mt. SAC’s first complete game of the 2024 season.
The former South Hills pitcher went the distance and allowed one run on five hits to lead the Mounties to a 5-1 victory over Allan Hancock in the first of a best-of-three regional playoff series.
Lorenzano issued three walks and struck out eight.
Of his 113 pitches, 69 went for strikes.
Bridger Coleman had an RBI double in the top of the eighth to pull Hancock to within 2-1 of MSAC.
Tommy Kendlinger singled and doubled.
Owen Bolich drew an eighth-inning walk, and his pinch runner, Rudy Elizondo, scored on Coleman’s double.
Stephen Espinoza walked and singled, and Gavin Long singled.
Nick Brown got the loss after going 6 1/3 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits.
Brown walked one and struck out one.
Austin Moccardini was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Moccardini issued one walk and fanned a pair of MSAC batters.
Locked in a 0-0 tie, the Mounties scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, and they got three more in the eighth.
Gibby Morales went 2-for-4, scored twice and his RBI double in the seventh gave Mt. SAC a 1-0 lead.
Ty Thomas singled, and he drew a walk with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
After Hancock pulled to within 2-1, Kaden Moeller’s RBI single in the eighth extended the lead to 3-1.
Moeller scored twice on Friday.
Joel Gutierrez had an RBI single in the eighth inning.
Bradyn France walked and doubled.
Joey Rossetti singled and scored.
Andrew Ramirez walked and singled.
Up next: Mt. SAC will host Allan Hancock today (Saturday) at 2.
With a win, the series is over.
If the Bulldogs win game two, a third and deciding game will be played approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Saturday’s first game.
Quotable:
Mt. SAC coach, John Knott: “Matt was very competitive from the first pitch of the game. He did an excellent job of throwing strikes and pitching with tempo. He changed speed and kept them off-balanced. We were able to get Matt some runs late, but both starting pitchers threw well and gave their team a chance. We were able to make some big defensive plays to keep the score tied.”
Mt. SAC pitcher, Matt Lorenzano: “I felt really good from the start, so I knew I had to go as long as I could. My fastball and slider were working really well for a strikeout pitch, and my change-up got weak contact so everything was working well. The key thing that helped me succeed today was that I gave everything I had, because this could have been my last time starting this season for Mt. SAC.”
Box Score:
AH: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-(1)
MS: 0-0-0-0-0-0-2-3-X-(5)
Win: Matt Lorenzano (9-2)
Loss: Nick Brown (4-6)
2B: Tommy Kendlinger (AH), Bridger Coleman (AH); Gibby Morales (MS), Bradyn France (MS)
Records: Allan Hancock (22-19); Mt. SAC (28-13)
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