GAME ONE SUPER REGIONALS: COMEBACK WIN NOT IN THE CARDS

The No. 14 FC baseball squad battled until the final out but came up just short in a wild offensive showdown Thursday afternoon as visiting No. 19 LA Pierce College escaped Hornet Field with a 12-10 victory in game one of the 3C2A Southern California Super Regionals.

The Hornet loss gives them an overall record of 24-21, while the Brahma win bumps the team up a notch at 26-19.

LA Pierce took a big jump ahead in the top of the third inning after scoring two runs on RBI plays by Jeremy Jones and Isaiah Chaves, Ethan Granillo delivered the biggest blow of the inning with a grand slam to left field that gave the Brahmas a commanding 6-0 lead.

Fullerton answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Diego Vazquez ripped a single through the left side that helped the Hornets get on the board after Jake Starr came around to score on an error.

The Brahmas added three more runs in the fourth inning on a three-run homer by Braden Sellz to extend the lead to 9-1, but the Hornets refused to fold.

FC chipped away in the bottom of the fourth when Sean Green scored on a double-play ball trimming the deficit to 9-2. The Hornets kept the pressure on in the fifth as Green delivered a clutch two-run double to center field, scoring Diego Vazquez and Vinny Hudson to make it 9-4.

LA Pierce pushed the advantage back to 11-4 in the seventh after Isaiah Chaves launched a two-run homer, but once again Fullerton responded.

The Hornets exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Hunter Billingsley drove in a run with a single up the middle before Niko Mendez added a two-run single to left field. Jake Starr later brought home another run with an RBI single as Fullerton suddenly cut the lead to 11-8.

LA Pierce added an insurance run in the ninth on a wild pitch, but the Hornets made things interesting one final time. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Starr crushed a two-run homer to left field to bring Fullerton within two runs at 12-10.

Starr led the Hornets offensively, going 3-6 with 2 runs scored, a home run, and 3 RBI. Sean Green also had a huge day at the plate finishing 4-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Carlos Barrios and Hunter Billingsley each added 2 hits while Niko Mendez delivered 2 key RBI off the bench.

On the mound, Landen Pulsifer provided a strong relief effort for Fullerton striking out 4 over 2.1 innings.

Despite outhitting the Brahmas 17-13, the Hornets could not fully recover from the six-run third inning.

Up Next: Fullerton will look to even the series on Friday, May 8th when the Hornets host LA Pierce in game two of the Super Regional series at Hornet Field. The first pitch is set for 2 pm.