With four games to go before the playoffs, the Bakersfield College baseball team is 10-6 in Western State Conference play and 21-10 overall. BC is one game behind L.A. Valley for first, and in a tie with Canyons for second place. BC will be looking to win the conference title and secure a playoff berth.
BC coach Tim Painton said of the position the Renegades have put themselves.
“Well, we’ve made the big push. We’ve put ourselves in contention at this time of year with two weeks left that’s all you can hope for.
“That’s all we want to do is maintain where we’re at and keep doing the things were doing, because right now we’re playing the best baseball we’ve played all year,” he said.
And BC showed this to be true after Andrew Letourneau’s game winning RBI that gave the Renegades the 8-7 extra inning win on April 17.
BC started off fast, grabbing the lead with a four-run first inning. The Renegades first eight hitters found themselves in the batter’s box and got four runs off five hits.
In the third, outfielder Letourneau reached on an error to start the inning by the third baseman. Then he stole a base and advanced on a wild pitch.
Dylan Nasiatka singled to bring Letourneau in and put the Renegades up 5-0 by the end of three.
Bryan Maxwell, who started on the mound for BC, found himself in a tough spot in the top of the fifth inning.
The Brahmas third baseman Justin Fredlander was hit by a pitch to start what came to be a productive inning for Pierce.
The next batter, Zack Gilula hit a 2-1 pitch from Maxwell to deep right field for an RBI triple.
Pierce went on to add four more runs in the inning to tie the score at five.
BC took the lead back in the seventh, when Nick Fox picked up his third RBI with a single that brought in Letourneau.
Sam Westendorf scored Nasiatka with an RBI groundout to second.
Reliever Xavier Tavorn was brought in with one out in the sixth and went on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings.
The Brahmas tied the score at seven in the seventh and eighth innings before Anthony Ramirez was brought in the ninth.
But at the end of nine, both teams would be tied at seven and the game would go into extra innings.
Pierce threatened early in the 10th, when its third baseman singled, and advanced to third after a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.
But the runner never came into score as Ramirez worked out of the inning with a strike out and ground ball out.
The Renegades’ 1-2-3 hitters were retired in order in the home half of the inning.
LA Pierce stranded two runners in the 11th and another in the 12th but failed to score.
Third baseman Greg Osteen led off the 12th with a walk and was sacrificed over to second by Nuriddin. Joe Ramirez singled to move Osteen over to third with one out.
After working to a 2-2 count, Letourneau took an inside fastball up the middle that hit off the bag at second that bounced up giving Osteen enough time to score the winning run from second.
“It was a great college baseball game is what it was,” said BC coach Tim Painton.
“You had two teams fighting for their lives, because we’re down to five six games in conference and both of us are in contention.”
He continued by saying, “That was their Tuesday starter, that’s how big this game was.
“He comes in and throws three plus innings in relief and he’s a kid with an exceptional arm. But he had become a one-pitch guy because he wasn’t able to locate his breaking ball and didn’t have a good feel changeup and that’s all we told them.
Letourneau has hit two game-winning RBI’s in the last six games.
“It feels better than the first time, I’m lost for words,” he said.
“He got me out the first time and I knew he wasn’t going to get me out the second time. We were getting tired out there and we just have to finish it.”
Letourneau finished by saying.
“I had one game winner in high school, and this one’s going at the top of my list.”?
Nasiatka, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI, spoke of the trouble in the fifth.
“We got a little comfortable when we were up 5-0, we can’t shut down the hitting and we gave them a chance to get back in the game.
“Those guys [in the bullpen] just shut it down and the end result was they gave us a chance to win,” he said.
Anthony Ramirez knew what was on the line in the game and how important the win would be.
“Basically I was coming in thinking I had to keep the score where it was and I just knew I had to do my job that night,” he said.
First baseman Fox, who was playing in this sixth game back from injury, went 3-for-5 with three RBI in the game.
After the game he said, “It feels really good. I’ve been working hard, just waiting for that chance to get back into the lineup.”
BC will play at Canyons on April 22 and host LA Valley at home on April 25.