Gardner Mows Down Riverside, Baseball Sweeps Playoff Series

An All-South Coast Conference First Team selection, Race Gardner proved his worth Saturday morning in the most significant starting pitching performance of the season for the Pasadena City College baseball team. Gardner hurled the first complete game of the year by Lancers pitchers and his 7-hitter allowed No. 7 seed PCC to sweep 10th seed Riverside City College out of the Southern California Regionals, 3-2. The Lancers won the first round series, 2-games-to-0 and advance to the SoCal Second Round at SCC nemesis El Camino College next Friday-Saturday, May 12-13.

In wet, rainy conditions throughout the contest at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Memorial Field, Gardner (6-4 record) outdueled Riverside's Matt Acosta, who had a perfect game going into the fifth inning. Acosta (6-4) would also go the distance, allowing seven hits but he was hurt by his defense. Gardner gave up four walks and struck out five, allowing just two earned runs.

The SCC North Division champion Lancers upped their record to 26-13 while Riverside, ranked No. 10 in the final regular season CCCSIA state poll, saw its season end at 29-13. 

For the second game in a row, PCC won the game in its final at bats in the ninth inning, but this time as the designated visiting team. Tied 1-1 in the top of the ninth, shortstop Alex Briggs ripped a lead-off single by the third baseman. Catcher Jessie Garcia then reached on an error by Acosta on his sacrifice bunt. Centerfielder John Bicos loaded the bases on a single to left. With one out, third baseman Jose Jimenez hit a bouncer that Riverside shortstop Peter McEvoy muffed. It was a RBI for Jimenez and a 2-1 PCC lead. 

At that point, PCC head coach Pat McGee sent up pinch hitter Brett Wheat, who made the coach look like a genius, by promptly hitting an opposite field single to right for a 3-1 lead. It would turn out to be the game-winning RBI.

Gardner, who had set down 10 straight batters between the sixth and into the ninth, ran into trouble in the ninth. With one out, McEvoy made up for his error by hitting a home run over the left-field wall that cut the PCC lead to one. A single and a walk allowed RCC to put the tying run in scoring position. McGee visited Gardner but left in the starter after a short chat.

Gardner responded by getting dangerous leadoff hitter Dean Miller to ground out to third that moved the runners to second and third. That brought up catcher Peter Gomez. With 12-home run hitter Ryan Mota in the on-deck circle, Gardner got out of the jam and clinched a PCC sweep by getting Gomez to hit a soft liner gloved by second baseman Andres Kim for the 27th out.

PCC players swarmed the field in the team's first postseason series victory in 50 seasons. In 1967, the Lancers went on to win their last state title in the sport. 

"Race is a competitor, and he was a bulldog today," McGee said. "Really, we put our eggs in one basket and said we had to win game 2 and sweep these guys. We did not want to go to a third game. Acosta shut us down but we are scrappy when we have to be. They hurt themselves with a couple of errors and we took advantage. We win a slugfest in the first game and win a pitching duel in the second game. That's baseball in a nutshell. I'm very proud of our players and clearly they want to keep this thing going."

Jimenez went 2-for-4 overall and had two RBI. Bicos also was 2-for-4.