Taft College erased an early five-run deficit but couldn't hold on to a late three-run lead and suffered an 11-8 Central Valley Conference loss at Reedley College on Tuesday.
Reedley jumped on Taft starting pitcher R.J. Munoz early, scoring a run in the bottom of the first before adding on four more runs in the second. Munoz settled down after the rough beginning, holding the Tigers scoreless over the next four frames.
The Cougars' offense came alive in the fourth as they exploded for four runs. Taft sent eight batters to the plate, totaling four hits and a pair of walks. Genta Yamazaki smashed an RBI triple while Chris Ortega and Luis DeLeon drove in a run each with singles. Julian DeLeon's groundout with the bases loaded plated the final run.
Trailing 5-4, Taft evened up the game in the fifth as Yamazaki's sacrifice bunt brought home Damien Holmes.
Chris ScherbartH gave Taft its first lead thanks to his leadoff home run in the top of the sixth. The Cougars added to the lead with two runs in the seventh, getting an RBI fielder's choice form Andres Garza and a sacrifice fly with Christian Wilson to put TC ahead 8-5.
But Reedley chased Munoz from the mound, scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh to effectively tear away the victory from the Cougars. Munoz went 6+ innings, allowing seven runs and six hits.
Taft banged out 11 hits, getting two-hit games from Garza (2 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI) and Ortega (2 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI).
TC fell to 1-24 overall and 1-20 in Central Valley Conference play. The Cougars and Tigers wrap up a two-game CVC series on Wednesday (May 26) at 2 p.m. in Taft.