The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
College of San Mateo secured no worse than a second-place tie in the Coast North Conference with a dramatic 10-9 win Tuesday at Skyline College.
Skyline, trailing 10-7, scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI double by Coast North hitting leader Preston Lau (.391) and a single by Ethan Bergan that brought home Lau, with one out. CSM relief pitcher Jeff Richards then struck out Max Coupe — ranked No. 3 in league hitting at .373 — and got Cam Grant to ground out to third base to end it and record his third save.
San Mateo (11-8 Coast North, 27-11 overall) had taken apparent control at the outset, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first. AJ Carter singled home Ty Barrango, who had walked and stole second. Marcus Aranda singled, the first of his three hits on the day, and a Kai Holm double brought home Carter. Connor Hennings started his three-hit day with a two-run single and came home on a double by Nathan Martinez.
Both teams scored single runs in the fourth, Skyline on a Grant home run and CSM on a Chris Schuchart double, plating Barrango.
Skyline (10-9, 25-13) then erupted with a six-run fifth, climaxed by Dillon Goetz’s three-run homer, to take a 7-6 lead. A two-run single by Ethan Bergen got that run production underway, bringing home Billy Mrowka and Dane Anderson, each who had singled.
San Mateo rebounded with two runs each in the sixth and seventh to move ahead, 10-7. Schuchart had a two-run single in the sixth to bring home Carter and Aranda, who had reached on hits. Aranda had his second double of the game to take the league lead with 14 for the year.
Hennings and Martinez singled to start the seventh and came home on a double by Barrango, providing the eventual winning total for the Bulldogs. Barrango had two steals in the game, bringing his season total to 20.
Cade Barry got the win for San Mateo with 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing a single, one hit and striking out three.
CSM hosts co-fourth West Valley on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., while third place Skyline entertains Coast North champion Chabot (14-5, 14-11-1) in San Bruno. All three County teams, along with Cañada College, are looking for spots in the Northern California playoffs when seeding takes place Sunday.
