Warriors Fall to Roadrunners in Walk-Off Fashion

WHITTIER, Calif. – Trevor Casanova had three hits and the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning but it was not enough as No. 1 El Camino College suffered its first series sweep of the season, falling to Rio Hondo 6-5 Thursday afternoon at The Jungle in Whittier, Calif.

The Warriors (33-4, 17-2) were one out away from defeating the Roadrunners (18-15, 10-9) and clinching the outright South Coast Conference-South Division title. But two ninth-inning errors proved costly for ECC, beginning with Nick Ybarra reaching on an error by shortstop Darian Sylvester, allowing Ybarra to advance to second base.

Alex Rodriguez then cashed in the mistake as he smacked a triple of Warriors reliever Jake Carr, scoring Ybarra and tying the game 5-5.

Cesar Sandoval followed with a walk and then Tony Rosario reached on another error, allowing Rodriguez to come in with the game-winning run and send the Warriors to their second straight defeat.

Carr was saddled with the loss after allowing just one hit, two walks and two unearned runs in one and 1/3 innings of relief.

The Warriors went into the ninth inning trailing the Roadrunners by a run. Hunter Lewis led off the frame with a groundout but Cody Wissler reached against Rio Hondo reliever Anthony Franco to turn the lineup over and bring Casanova to the dish. The Warriors catcher, with two hits already, stepped in and blasted a go-ahead, two-run shot to give the Warriors their first lead of the game since the third inning when they led 1-0 before a three-run outburst by the Roadrunners in the bottom of the third.

Casanova finished the day 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Brady Dorn and Angel Mora also recorded multi-hit games.

Cassius Hamm tossed five innings for the Warriors and allowed three runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out seven en route to a no-decision.

With Long Beach City defeating ECC Compton Center on Thursday, the Warriors magic number remains at one. The Warriors can clinch with a Vikings loss to the Tartars on Saturday or with a win over the Vikings next week during their three-game set.

That series gets started Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Warrior Field.