Senior infielder Dan Austin capped a six-run rally, with a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, as the Los Alamitos baseball team rallied for a 10-6 win over Fountain Valley on Wednesday, May 2, at Fountain Valley.
Fountain Valley had scored two in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead as the Griffins came up for their final at-bat. But Los Alamitos wasted no time in putting the pressure back on the Barons. Patrick Ivison led off with an infield single and Jared Owen followed with a walk to put the tying runs on with no outs.
Michael Farris drove in a run on an infield single to pull the Griffins to within 6-5. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, and Cody Marshall drew a walk to load the bases. Senior catcher Andrew Yazdanbakhsh grounded a single up the middle to score two runs and put the Griffins up 7-6. Austin highlighted the rally with his shot to left field.
Austin was quick to point out his team’s effort to put him in a position to make his first home run of the season a memorable one.
“I never would have had that opportunity if it wasn’t for my teammates … we had some great at-bats and just kept battling, we never quit,” Austin said.
However, Austin did admit that he had no doubts once the ball left his bat.
“I knew right when I hit it, it was going, he left me an elevated changeup and I took advantage of it,” Austin said.
The Griffins would finish their series with Fountain Valley with a 10-1 win on Friday at Los Alamitos. Coupled with a Marina loss, the Griffins held a one-game lead for first place heading into this week’s regular season finale against Edison. Head coach Matt Nuez said they knew Fountain Valley would put up a tough fight, and despite some struggled he said the Griffins showed why they have won eight consecutive league games.
“They’re very resilient, very tough kids, they’re highly competitive and that last inning and this game was a testament to that,” Nuez said.
The Griffins had taken a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, but the Barons had fought right back to score four in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Los Alamitos tied the game back up in the top of the fifth after Ivison led off with a double and eventually scored on a passed ball after moving to third on a sacrifice.
Starting pitcher Greg Harris battled for four innings, but did not figure into the decision. The Griffin bull pen of Troy Rallings, Garrett Hollingsworth and Jacob Nix closed out the game with Hollingsworth getting credit for the win and Nix getting the save as he set the Barons down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning.
This week the Griffins close out the season with two games against Edison. In order to get an extra day of preparation for the playoffs, the league switches from its usual Wednesday/Friday schedule to Tuesday/Thursday games. The Griffins hosted Edison on Tuesday and will play at Edison on Thursday at 3 p.m. One win secures at least a share of the league title for the Griffins.
