COD (13-8; 6-1) used a little "Luck of the Irish" on this St. Patrick's Day, as the Roadrunners scored 3 runs in the 9th, then walked it off in the 12th, defeating the Cerro Coso Coyotes of Ridgecrest (11-12; 3-4), 7-6.

As we are accustomed to, from years of Warner Bros. cartoons, the Roadrunners, once again, beat the Coyotes, but this time it was on the baseball diamond. Desert found themselves in a hole early and could not seem to grab any momentum until the 9th. Down 6-3, the home side rallied to load the bases with no outs, eventually tying the game at 6-6. In the 12th, the Roadrunners mounted a two-out rally, beginning with a bunt, then a bunt single and then the double to left by sophomore center fielder William Owens (Crescent City, FL) scoring freshman right fielder Brian Parry (Redlands H.S.) from third base, to give Desert the come-from-behind Conference win, 7-6.

Freshman right handed starting pitcher Kenneth Schechter (Newtonville (MA) Newton North) had a strong performance in his fifth start of the season and third start since his return to the lineup. Schechter tossed six and a third inning, his longest outing of the season, giving up four runs, three earned on four hits, walking two and striking out seven in a no decision.

Freshman left handed relief pitcher Michael-Alan Stanford (Westlake Village) threw two and two-thirds innings, surrendering two runs, none earned on three hits, walking one and striking out two.

Freshman right handed relief pitcher Kevin Sanchez (Indio Shadow Hills) tossed a third of an inning, tying for his shortest outing of the season, giving up a hit, walking two and getting a strike out.

Freshman right handed relief pitcher Johnny Young (Redding Shasta) grabbed his longest outing of 2022, tossing two and two-thirds innings and striking out two in his first win of the year.

Sophomore second baseman Dalton Thomas (Wenatchee, WA), batting in the leadoff spot, went 3 for 6 with two runs scored, including scoring a run in the fifth and the tying run in the bottom of the ninth. The 3-hit day ties Thomas' season high for hits in a game.

Sophomore center fielder William Owens (Crescent City, FL), who leads the Roadrunners in hits, walks and stolen bases, went 2 for 5 out of the two hole in the lineup, plating three runs batted in. The 3 RBI day for Owens sets a season high, he also hit his seventh double of the season.

Freshman third baseman Spencer Dickinson (Rancho Mirage H.S.) clobbered his team leading fourth home run of the season and sophomore first base Jaxon Millet (Bethel, CT) went 2 for 3, making this his eighth multi-hit day of the season and third consecutive multi-hit game.

Freshman right fielder Brian Parry (Redlands H.S.) was a beast out of the nine hole, going 4 for 5 with three runs scored, making this his eighth multi-hit day of the season and third consecutive multi-hit game, hitting his fifth double of the season in the win.

College of the Desert Baseball will continue Inland Empire Athletics Conference (IEAC) play by traveling to Ridgecrest to face the Cerro Coso Coyotes on Saturday, March 19 at 1p. The next home game for the Roadrunners is March 22nd at 2:30p, when the Chaffey Panthers of Rancho Cucamonga are in town for an IEAC show-down.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information & Story provided by COD Sports Information. Photo by Michael Leone Photography (f8leone@yahoo.com).