Mt. SAC Baseball Earns CCCAA State No. 4 Ranking; Blanks PCC 8-0

Mt. SAC Pitcher Mason Corneliussen
Mason Corneliussen pitches first complete game of the year.

(Pasadena, CA) Riding a six-game winning streak and 18 wins over all, the Mt. SAC Baseball Team earned a California Community College Athletic Association State No. 4 ranking by the CCCSIA in the first poll of the season.

In addition to the six-game streak, the Mounties have won nine out of the last 10, including an 8-0 shutout over host Pasadena City College at Jackie Robinson Field Tuesday afternoon.

The South Coast Conference North win improves the Mounties (18-6) to a first-place 8-1 record and the third most wins (overall) in the state.

The Mounties remain a game up on Chaffey College (7-2).

"Overall I'm very happy with the effort (Tuesday) and hopefully we can continue to make adjustments and improve," Mt. SAC Head Coach John Knott said.

Pitching the first complete game of the season for the Mounties was right-hander Mason Corneliussen (6-0), who faced just three batters over the minimum (30).

He is one of only six pitchers in the state with six wins or more without a loss.

Corneliussen (7 Ks), who scattered only three hits in three of the first four innings, allowed one PCC batter to reach (walk) the remainder of the game. That stretch included retiring 17 out of the 18 Lancers batters, which included six strikeouts.

"Mason was competitive from the first pitch of the game," Knott said. "He had a good feel for his pitches and the defense played well behind him."

It was the sixth game this season without an error by the Mounties.

In addition to the mound performance by the sophomore, the Mt. SAC bats exploded for 14 hits in the game. It was the fifteenth time this season the Mounties have recorded double figures in hits in a game.

Leading the way for Mt. SAC was second baseman Ryon Knowles (3-4, R, RBI, Dbl.) and right fielder Elijah Greene (3-5, RBI, 2 Dbls.) with three hits each.

Greene improved his average to .433 (42-97), which ranks him seventh in the state. His 42 hits rank him second in California.

Third baseman Michael Sandoval (2-4, 4 R, 2 Dbls.) and first baseman Dino Miranda (2-4) added two hits each.

After single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings for the 3-0 lead, the Mounties added four in the eighth for a 7-0 lead.

Center fielder Quinn Cotter (1-4, R, RBI) started the scoring in the inning with a bunt single scoring Sandoval, followed by two-run single by shortstop Elijah Zaragoza (1-3, R, Sac), scoring Cotter and Knowles for the 6-0 lead.

"Elijah's (Zaragoza) two-out, two RBI single was huge to extend the lead for us," Knott added. "Elijah (Zaragoza) and Michael (Sandoval) played well, collecting multiple doubles and made key defensive plays."

The fourth run of the inning came across on a single to left by Manny Galvan, scoring Zaragoza.

The Mounties continue conference action with two more games with the Lancers on Thursday (weather permitting) at home (2:30 p.m.) and Saturday at PCC (noon).

They take a break next week from SCC play with a home-and-away series against neighboring Citrus College.

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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.