Sea Beggars Add To The Win Column
After returning from Oahu, Hawaii, and having played arguably one of the toughest preseason schedules in school history, The Providence Christian College baseball team got back to work in preparation for the quickly approaching California Pacific Conference run. The Sea Beggars had a four-game stand, with two on the road; one versus Vanguard University and another versus Bethesda University of California. Those games were followed by the home opener, a double header at Glendale Sports Complex versus Bethesda to complete the three-game series with the Flames.
The matchup with Vanguard was a much better played game by the Sea Beggars than the previous time the two teams faced off just a few weeks earlier. The Lions were still able to put runs on the board and keep the Sea Beggar bats at bay until the 6th inning, when Providence had bases loaded and two outs. Cameron Martin (JR/Fairfield, CA) was walked with 1 out, and advanced to third on walks by Joey Forslund (FR/Las Vegas, NV) and a throwing error by the Lions, allowing Matt Simpson to get on. Evan Friesen (SR/La Mirada, CA) was then walked, bringing Cameron Martin across the plate and making it 6-1 in the top of the 6th. The Sea Beggars added another run in the 8th inning after Dylan Irwin (FR/Monroe, OR) doubled and was driven home off a single by Forslund. The Lions were victorious with a final score of 9-2.
The Sea Beggars followed the single midweek game by opening a three-game series versus Bethesda University of California on the road. Providence jumped on the Flames early in the first. With two outs, Cameron Martin drew a walk and was on first base when Dylan Irwin doubled, to put the Sea Beggars up 1-0. The Providence bats stayed hot in the 2nd inning with back-to-back home runs by Kyle Fuller (FR/Junction City, OR) and Cody Leonard (JR/Orting, WA), making it 3-0 after the second inning. When asked about his performance and hitting his first collegiate home run, Fuller said, "It was really great to be able to get back on the field again and help our team compete. The confidence my team had in me helped me to play loose, and I was fortunate to see the ball pretty well and square a few up." Providence added three more runs in the 4th inning off clutch hits by Fuller, Leonard, and Tucker Panarisi (SO/Santa Clarita, CA), and two more runs in both the 7th and 8th innings, making the final score 10-4 in favor of the Sea Beggars. Trent Friesen (JR/La Mirada, CA) pitched a solid 6 innings, giving up four hits, two runs, and he struck out 5 batters. Panarisi, Martin, and Irwin each finished with doubles, Panarisi, Irwin, Fuller, Forslund, Lee Atkinson each had an RBI, and Leonard had two RBI's.
Game two, the first of the double header, started off slow for the Sea Beggars as they fell behind 2-0 by the 2nd inning. Providence came to life though in the 3rd inning, wearing down the Flame pitcher and scoring 5 runs after having the bases loaded and two outs. Runs were added in the 5th and 6th inning off a Forslund double and a Panarisi single respectively. Three more runs were added to the tally in the 7th inning off big hits by Fuller, Evan Friesen and Philip Reynoso (FR/Los Angeles, CA). After 8 ½ innings, the final score was 10-5 in favor of Providence. Junior Aidan Delgado (JR/Apple Valley, CA) got his first collegiate win, going 6 innings and only giving up two earned runs. When asked about getting his first collegiate win and his overall performance, Delgado said, "It wasn't an ideal start, but I got to settle down and my offense came through and gave me a boost of confidence to go out there and keep going. My defense held it down and got me out of a couple jams! Overall, it was a great team win, and I couldn't be more proud of this team!"
The final game in the series was a tight battle until the very end. Junior transfer pitcher Mario Ruiz (JR/West Covina, CA) pitched a remarkable game, throwing the complete 7 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 5 batters. The Sea Beggars trailed 2-0 going to the bottom of the 7th, and with bases loaded and one out, Fuller was walked, scoring Martin. Cody Leonard approached the plate having the confidence that stems from a great series. Unfortunate, Leonards hard hit ball was on the ground and the Flame short stop was able to complete a 6-4-3 double play to end the game, giving Bethesda a 2-1 victory. Panarisi had a solid series and said, "The series against Bethesda really showed what is to be expected with this team moving forward. We are a great team that works together to achieve the same goal.... which is winning. I am very excited to compete with this group of guys for the rest of the season as we push for a spot at the conference tournament."
The Sea Beggars open Cal Pac Conference play on the road this weekend as they face Marymount California University on Friday March 4th at 2pm, followed by a double header on Saturday March 6th starting at 11am. The games will be broadcast on the Marymount livestream and played locally at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. We hope to see you there supporting the Sea Beggars, whether in person or from afar.
Photos provided by Providence sophomore Faith Ryan