Baseball Suffers Upset Loss to Chaffey

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College committed three errors and struck out 11 times in a 6-4 non-conference loss to visiting Chaffey on Thursday afternoon at Warrior Field.

The Warriors (6-2) left 11 men on base against the Panthers (2-5). Jack Snyder took the loss on the mound for the Warriors despite allowing just two runs, one earned, on only one hit and two walks. He struck out eight.

Ben Griffin continued his great start to the season as he went 4-for-5 with a double and Dylan Knowles hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough as the rest of the lineup went 2-for-21 with nine strikeouts.

The Warriors struck first in the opening inning as Knowles was hit by a pitch to lead things off for ECC. Griffin singled to advance Knowles to third and then Theo Forshey walked to load the bases. Jonah Storey hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Knowles and give ECC a 1-0 lead, but Ethan Felix popped up and Neil Feist grounded out to end the frame.

Snyder cruised through three innings, retiring all nine hitters he faced. But Matthew Chavez reached on a throwing error by Forshey to lead off the fourth. Snyder hit Jared Bujanda and then Bradley Chesterton sacrificed the runners over into scoring position.

Cole Howarth would then line a single to center to plate the two runs and put Chaffey up, 2-1.

It would be the Panthers' only hit of the day until the ninth inning but the Warriors could not get their bats going.

The sixth looked like it would be a big inning for ECC as the first three batters reached thanks to two walks and a double by Storey to load the bases. But Panthers' pitcher Nathaniel Garcia got Feist to hit a 3-1 comebacker to the mound and the Panthers got a 1-2-3 double play to keep the one-run lead. Pinch-hitter Jorge Renteria would strike out looking to end the frame.

In the ninth, everything went wrong for the Warriors as reliever Jack Kobylt lost the strike zone as he walked the bases loaded, although he was able to get two outs in the process. But Zach Kim singled up the middle to score two runs and then the Panthers pulled off a double steal of second and home to score another and take a 5-1 lead. Emilio Garcia then reached on a fielding error by Julio Camarena, moving Kim to third. It wasn't over, however, as Camarena made a throwing error to home plate trying to keep Kim at third but the Panthers third baseman crossed the plate on the miscue.

The Warriors mounted one last stand as the first two hitters of the inning walked. Knowles then stepped in and blasted his homer over the right-field fence to bring the Warriors within two. Griffin then singled and Forshey followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. But Storey popped up, Felix struck out looking and Kobylt grounded out to first to end the game.

The Warriors will return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. as they host Southwestern in another non-conference tilt.