BATTLE-TESTED HORNETS RUN THE GAUNTLET – ADVANCE TO THE SUPER REGIONALS

It took four games and plenty of late-inning drama, but the Hornet baseball squad punched its ticket to the next round walking away from a three-way double-elimination battle with Southwestern and El Camino College to win the opening round of the 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Fullerton opened play Friday morning with one of its most dramatic wins of the season edging Southwestern 10-9 on a walk-off wild pitch. In a back-and-forth contest, the Hornets capitalized in the ninth inning to secure the victory and set the tone for the weekend. The Hornets racked up 11 hits and were led by Sean Green (3-5 with 3 RBI) and Diego Vazquez (3 hits with 1 RBI). Luke Viola scored 3 runs, while Coen Goes drove in 2 runs of his own, including the game-tying 9^th run. He also scored the game winner hustling home on the wild pitch. Starting pitcher Will Valezuela threw 5.2 innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits. Nico Rodriguez came in tossing 1.1 innings with 3 runs on 5 hits, and Murdoch Taylor (2-1) earned the win with 4 runs on 5 hits.

On Saturday, FC kept rolling with a 7-5 come-from-behind win over El Camino. Trailing late, the Hornets erupted in the eighth inning to take control. Diego Vazquez got things started with a deep fly ball to center for a SAC Fly that scored Jake Starr to tie it up at 2-2. Niko Mendez gave Fullerton a 4-2 lead with a rip up the middle scoring Viola and Vinny Hudson. Hunter Billingsley hit a SAC Fly that gave Green the chance to go home. El Camino came within a run in the bottom of the eighth, but FC closed the door with a hard hit up the middle Mendez scoring Viola and Vazquez. The Hornets had 10 total hits for the win. Starting pitcher Sage Nelson delivered a strong outing going 7 innings while allowing 5 runs and striking out 9 to keep Fullerton within striking distance before the offense took over.

Later in the day, with a chance to clinch advancement, the Hornets hit a bump in the road falling 6-5 in a tightly contested game after rough eighth inning collapse. Despite a 13-hit effort by the Hornets, the loss forced a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.

With the series on the line against Southwestern on Sunday afternoon, FC stepped up with an 11-6 victory. It was not an easy ride for the Hornets though. The Jaguars jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but the Hornets answered immediately with a 5-run first inning to seize momentum. After the Jaguars briefly regained the lead at 6-5 in the third, Fullerton took control for good in the sixth on a big hit big by Viola to plate Starr, a bases-loaded walk by Sean Green to score Hudson, a wild pitch that scored Vazquez, and Goes' smack to right center field that brought in Green and Viola. Vazquez had an RBI knock the seventh that brought in Starr for the insurance run. Hunter Billingsley earned his first win of the season going 3.2 innings with only a hit against and no runs. Nelson and Valenzuela helped secure the win with no-hit efforts.

Up Next: The Hornets (24-20 overall) advance to the 3C2A Super Regionals and will host LA Pierce College in a best-of-three series that begins this Thursday, May 7th at 2:00 pm. Game two will take place at Hornet Field on Friday, May 8th at 2:00 pm. Game three (if necessary) will be played on Saturday, May 9th at 1:00 pm.

2026 3C2A SoCal Super Regional Bracket

*Photo by Matt Brown