Big Bats and Solid Pitching Lead Warriors Past Canyons in Home Opener

TORRANCE, Calif. – No. 2 El Camino College got four extra-base hits and the pitching staff put up eight scoreless innings as the Warriors scored a 7-3 non-conference victory over College of the Canyons on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.

The Warriors took the 2018 home opener thanks to 12 hits, two doubles and two towering home runs from a couple of newcomers. Diego Alarcon went 2-for-5 with a solo home run while Jose Ruiz Jr. went 2-for-4 with a two-run bomb and three RBIs on the day. Spencer Long was perfect at the dish, going 3-for-3 with a double while returner Joseph Borges also tallied three hits and scored three times.

First pitch at 12:06 and we are underway at Warrior Field! pic.twitter.com/0GwxiAp7po

— ECC Warriors (@ECCWarriors) January 27, 2018

While the new guys handled the bats, it was sophomore Trevor Talpas who turned in a solid start on the mound. The left-hander tossed six quality innings and allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked none and held the Cougars scoreless through the first five innings before getting touched up for three runs in his last inning of work.

Max Pappas then saw his first action of 2018 as he shut the door on the Cougars, collecting the three-inning save. He allowed three hits but no runs or walks on the day.

For the Cougars, three players collected multi-hit games while pitcher Jackson Cunningham was saddled with the loss. He allowed five earned runs on four hits and walked three.

The Warriors opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with some two-out hitting. Borges started things off with a two-out single up the middle and then took second on a wild pitch by Cunningham. That proved crucial as Long smacked a base hit to left field to plate Borges and put the Warriors up 1-0, their first lead of the season.

One of the stars of today's win over Canyons. Diego Alarcon with the postgame spotlight, talking to the voice of the Warriors @therealjonortiz pic.twitter.com/XXkYkqxvgh

— ECCbaseball (@elcobaseball) January 28, 2018

Two innings later, Alarcon added to the Warriors lead as he turned on an offering from Cunningham and launched it over the high left-field wall for a solo homer and a 2-0 ECC lead.

The Warriors seemed to break things open in the fifth inning as they got RBI hits from Borges, Long and Ruiz Jr. to score three times in the frame and take a 5-0 lead.

But the No. 8 Cougars bounced right back in the sixth, finally solving Talpas. After a leadoff walk and hit batter put two on to start the inning, Talpas struck out Senituli Taufahema for the first out of the frame. But Eddie Rodriguez laced a double to the right-center field gap to plate Corbin Williams and make it 5-1 with runners on second and third.

Talpas locked in to strike out Blake Doremus and nearly escape the inning, but Tyler Erne smacked a chopper up the middle for a two-run single and trim the Warriors lead back down to two runs.

We're not seeing that again! @JrRuiz_3 with an absolute BOMB �� over the LF fence! Warriors take a 7-3 lead in the 7th!

— ECCbaseball (@elcobaseball) January 27, 2018

It stayed that way until the seventh when Ruiz Jr. provided the cushion ECC needed, unloading on a high offering from Cougars reliever Matt Boyce and smacking it off the roof of the building overlooking left field for a two-run blast and a 7-3 lead.

Pappas took care of the rest, getting the final six outs for the save.

The Warriors will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon as they welcome Saddleback to Warrior Field. First pitch is set for 2 pm.