State No. 20-Ranked Baseball A Win Away From Conference Crown

The newly ranked state No. 20 Pasadena City College baseball team moved one step closer to the South Coast Conference North Division title with a 4-2 win at East Los Angeles College Thursday night. PCC can clinch a share of its first conference baseball title since President Richard Nixon was in office (1972) if it can sweep ELAC on Saturday in the squads' series finale. Game time is 12 noon at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Memorial Field.

Pasadena climbed aboard the CCCSIA State Top 20 rankings for the first time on Thursday and is at its highest rank ever on the just released CCCBCA coaches SoCal Region Top 20 poll at No. 13. PCC is 21-12 overall, the most victories in a season by a Lancers team since 1983.

More importantly, Coach Pat McGee's Lancers upped their SCC record to 12-6, holding a comfortable 2-1/2 game lead over second-place Rio Hondo. PCC has four games left and Rio Hondo (10-9) three remaining. A Lancers win in any of their final four contests would insure a share of a title that has never been achieved in the sport in the college's 31-year history as part of the South Coast. In fact, the team's highest finish is fourth place in the 2001 season when the team was 12-12 in conference play. 

Against ELAC, PCC trailed 2-1 before sophomore first baseman Jeremy Conant launched a 2-run homer over the right field wall to give the Lancers a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning. That lead held up thanks to the pitching of starter and winner Race Gardner (5-3 record, six innings, seven hits, two runs), Matthew McElligott (one scoreless inning), and closer Nick Esparza (two innings, 1-hit ball), who picked up his conference-leading seventh save. 

Rightfielder Shane Ogata, who was 2-for-4, singled in centerfielder John Bicos (2-for-4), who doubled, in the first inning. Pinch hitter Anthony Fickewirth lined a RBI single for an insurance run in the ninth.  PCC's total of four runs broke a streak of nine consecutive SCC games where the team scored at least six runs (seven or more in seven during that stretch). 

The Lancers have won four straight conference games and are 6-1 in league play since Mar. 28. 

PCC Niner Notes: Kim has a 10-game hitting streak in conference games...Conant is third in the state in batting with a .458 average. His 115 career hits far and away makes him PCC baseball's all-time hits leader...ELAC pitchers struck out all nine of PCC's starting lineup, 11 in all, but it did not affect the outcome...Third baseman Jose Jimenez continued a string of games where he has put together a highlight reel of great defensive plays. Against ELAC, he raced down the left field line and made a sparkling catch near the foul fence. He made a back-hand stab to rob a hit and fired a perfect one-hop throw to Conant for the out...Catcher Jessie Garcia also has provided key defense and handled PCC's pitching staff all season. Garcia has gunned out 12 runners trying to steal, including three of the last four in the Huskies' series.