Fullerton rallies in late innings for Empire League home victory against Ocean View

Fullerton standouts Tuesday included (from left) Jacob Mariani, Martin Resendiz, Jaden Wise, Luke Gonzalez and Lucas Delgadillo. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Fullerton’s baseball team rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to register a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Ocean View in an Empire League game Tuesday afternoon at Fullerton. 

The Indians (10-4, 2-0) were cruising along with a 3-0 lead until Ocean View erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead. In the sixth inning, the Seahawks took advantage of two Fullerton miscues and pinch-hitter Connor Baird drilled a two-out, two-run double to give the visitors their first lead of the game.

However, the Indians quickly countered in the bottom of the sixth inning to regain the lead. 

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Luke Gonzalez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double to right. Evan Terrazas bunted for a single and Gonzalez advanced to third on the play.

One out later, Ronnie Martinez reached first on an infield single and Terrazas advanced to second while Gonzalez scored on the play, trimming the lead to 5-4. Sammy Chacon then hit a grounder that looked to be an inning-ending double play, but Chacon beat the relay throw to first and the speedy Terrezas dove safely at home tying the score a 5-5.

Mason Park followed with a single and he and Chacon pulled off a double steal to move up to second and third base. Moments later, both scored on an Seahawks infield error giving Fullerton a 7-5 lead.

Indians Coach Shaun Hill was pleased with the win.

“We buckled down and had live bats with the game on the line,” said Hill. “I’m proud on how the guys responded after falling behind.”

The Seahawks (4-9, 1-4) made it interesting in the top of the seventh inning. The first two hitters reached base against reliever Martin Resendiz. Caden Wise then relieved Resendiz. Wise retired Seven Thorndike on a line drive to shortstop Mason Park, who jumped high in the air to snag the ball for the first out.

Aiden Bond then hit a hard line drive that second baseman Sammy Chacon reached high in the air to pull down and flipped to Park at second for a game-ending double play.

“I’m usually a starter and it was stressful to come in as a reliever,” said Wise, who earned his first save of the season. “I was ready and I just wanted to throw strikes. I knew my defense would have my back.”

Park had a challenging game but finished strong for the Indians. He made a few miscues that led to Ocean View runs, but shook off the adversity and made three key plays in the final two innings to secure Fullerton’s win. 

In the top sixth inning after making two errors, Park displayed excellent range as he fielded a ground ball up the middle and threw to first for the final out. In the bottom of the sixth, he had a single, a stolen base and scored a run. In the top of the seventh inning, he made a spectacular catch of a hard hit line drive and then completed a double-play to end the game. 

“Baseball is a humbling game,” said Park, who had two hits and was on base three times in the game. “After making the errors, I couldn’t let my emotions get to me. I owed it to my teammates to remain focused.”  

“We live and die with Mason,” said Hill. “He’s a smart player and we rely heavily on him. I’m not surprised to see him come back and make great plays like he did. He’s a confident player.”

Fullerton had some adversity 20 minutes before the game started. The Indians scheduled starter Gavin Talavera was hit by a ball in the mouth during warmups. He left the field for treatment but later returned wearing a bandage over the right side of his mouth and cheek before the game ended and was able to celebrate with his teammates following the victory. 

“I got hit by a ball in the mouth just before the game and had to go to urgent care and got three stitches,” said Talavera, who was excited about the win.

On short notice, Jacob Mariani started the game and was impressive. Mariani gave up hits to the first two batters and then retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced. Mariani gave up four hits, struck out one and walked one before leaving the game with one out in the sixth inning.

“I wasn’t expecting to pitch today and I was nervous when the coach told him to get ready; I didn’t know what was going on,” said Mariani. “My off-speed stuff was working well and I got great defense behind me.”

Some of that excellent defense came as a result of the play of third baseman Luke Gonzalez. Gonzalez was flawless at third and made several difficult plays that helped keep Ocean View scoreless. Gonzalez also had two hits and scored two runs in the game.

The Indians scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead, highlighted by a two-run triple by Lucas Delgadillo and an RBI single by Ronnie Martinez. 

“It’s a humbling win and it gives us momentum going forward,” said Delgadillo, who scored a run and also had a stolen base. Martinez also had two hits and two RBI for Fullerton.

Seahawks Coach Tanner VanMannen was disappointed.

“It’s been frustrating for us but it’s been a standard way of how we’ve been losing,” said VanMaanen. “We get the lead but we don’t finish. It’s killing us. We are young and we are learning but in some ways we’re playing not to lose. We did some good things today like the way Austin {Aldous} pitched. He gave us a chance to win and that’s all you want from your starter.”

Both Carson Sulsona and Adrian Vasquez had outstanding games for Ocean View. Sulsona had two hits and scored a run and Vasquez had three hits and scored a run.

NOTES: 

—-Fullerton coach Shaun Hill said that senior hurler Declan Fitzgerald has been getting a lot of attention from pro scouts and he may get drafted this June. Fitzgerald has committed to play ast Arizona State University next year. 

—-Ocean View started five sophomores on Tuesday. “We are young and we are getting healthy; we’ve had a lot of injuries,” said Van Maannen, who is in his 11th year as head coach of the Seahawks. “It’s learning process and we’re working through our issues but we are picking it up.”