PASADENA, CA — Contrary to the recent trend, the Arroyo Seco Saints (12-11) notched a relatively easy win over the visiting San Diego Bombers (3-10 CCL) Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Field by way of a 7-4 final score. 

During the Saints’ losing streak, they struggled to compile nine complete team innings. Either the pitching would falter and the offense would have to play catch-up, or vice versa; Tuesday night was a different story. 

Brady Nelson (Minnesota State) got the starting nod for Arroyo Seco and got off to an unfortunately slow start. He got two quick outs, but struggled finishing off the first inning’s remaining hitters. Alan Choo (Transfer Portal) and James Derflinger (Uncommitted) each notched an RBI single, putting the Bombers in front 2-0 after one inning of play. 

Nelson would ultimately have a much smoother second inning as he only faced four Bombers batters. He yielded only the preliminary two runs, four hits and three strikeouts. 

The Saints’ bats did not look particularly sharp in the first couple of frames as they only mustered one run through the first three innings thanks to a Levi Maddela (Transfer Portal) RBI single.  

As the scoreboard read 2-1 after three innings, the curtain opened for the Nolan McCracken (Transfer Portal) show. McCracken did not disappoint as he tossed four stellar innings of two-run baseball. 

The most impressive aspect of McCracken’s relief effort was his ability to force swings and misses. He struck out 10 Bombers hitters, striking out at least two hitters every inning, including four in the seventh. Saints Pitching Coach Aaron Treloar was very complimentary of McCracken postgame. 

“Nolan is smart with how he pitches,” mentioned Treloar. “As the summer has gone on, he has gotten better at repeating his stuff. He held 92 mph through four innings and was super efficient about it, as well. Although it was not traditional for him to go that long, the efficiency that he showed throughout the outing gave him that chance [to go as deep as he did].” 

As the Saints’ pitchers began to trend upwards, so did the offense. In the fourth inning, the Saints struck for three runs as Maddela pounded another RBI single, Keon Moseni (Central Arkansas) drove in Jonny Garber (Arizona State) on a fielding error and Lane Haworth (Transfer Portal) scored Maddela on a sacrifice fly out. After four, the Saints commandeered the lead, jumping on top 4-2. 

“I think it is the work we put in individually,” said Maddela when asked why the Saints’ depth has been so consistent. “We click good as a team and we always have that in us. I do not think anything is different, [I think we are always] locked in.” 

Arroyo Seco’s scoring barrage continued in the fifth as Joey Milto (Transfer Portal) launched his CCL-leading fourth home run of the season, scoring both himself and Jacob Freer (Azusa Pacific) and making the score 6-2 Saints. 

“He has hit .350 this entire time and leads our team in homers,” said a complimentary Coach Treloar when asked about Milto’s continued success. “It is all a question of does he believe he can do that every single day or does he not. I think he does, and it shows.” 

The Bombers were able to grab two runs off McCracken in the seventh, but savvy base running by Jax Ryan (Missouri State) allowed him to score on a dropped third strike, keeping the Saints comfortably ahead 7-4 heading into the final two innings. 

Garrett McGuigan (Golden West College) and Andrew Citron (Georgetown) shut things down for the Saints in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. The 7-4 final score officially snapped Arroyo Seco’s five-game losing streak. 

The Saints are hoping that this win steadies the ship and points them in the right direction as the CCL playoffs loom large on the team’s minds. 

Coach Treloar mentioned that he and the team are taking it game-by-game, not wanting to get too ahead of themselves. 

As Tuesday night’s game concluded, Wednesday night becomes the next task on Arroyo Seco’s bucket list as the San Francisco Seagulls come to Jackie Robinson Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. 

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Tyler Bowne (San Diego State)
• Saints photographer Carina Sanchez (California State University Los Angeles)