Early Antelope Valley Surge Sinks Taft in 9-3 Loss at Cougar Field

A big early push from Antelope Valley proved too much for Taft College to overcome, as the Cougars dropped a 9-3 decision on a sunny Friday afternoon at Cougar Field.

Antelope Valley seized control in the first three innings and never surrendered it, building a 6-1 lead by the middle of the third. After an RBI single by E. Frainier opened the scoring in the first, the visitors broke the game open with a four-run second inning highlighted by a solo home run from A. Saucedo, an RBI single from C. Rollings and a two-run double by J. Steinhurs. Frainier then added a solo homer in the third, putting Taft in an early five-run hole.

The Cougars answered with some power of their own in the bottom of the second when Landon Angelo belted a solo home run to get Taft on the board. Taft mounted its best rally in the fourth. After Eian Peralta ripped a double, Hayden Ryan followed with an RBI double to the gap, and Aiden Otano lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in another run, trimming the deficit to 6-3 and giving the Cougars some momentum.

From there, however, Antelope Valley's starter A. Fitzpatri settled back in and kept Taft from drawing closer. Fitzpatri worked 7 2/3 effective innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out two to earn the win. The right-hander limited traffic by issuing just two walks, and the Antelope Valley defense backed him with an error-free performance.

Taft's pitching staff was forced to navigate a hot Antelope Valley lineup that finished with 17 hits, including four doubles, a triple and two home runs. Steinhurs led the visitors' attack with four hits in five at-bats and two RBIs, while Frainier went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two extra-base hits. B. Hennessy added three doubles and an RBI as Antelope Valley continued to apply pressure throughout the afternoon.

The Cougars stayed within striking distance into the late innings before Antelope Valley added three insurance runs in the ninth. Frainier tripled to spark the frame, C. Baughman followed with an RBI single and Hennessy capped the scoring with an RBI double to left-center, pushing the lead back to six runs. Taft finished with seven hits, including two doubles and Angelo's home run, but stranded four runners and could not generate another sustained rally after the fourth.

Despite the loss, Taft showed resilience in responding after the early deficit and received key offensive contributions from Angelo, Ryan, Peralta and Otano. With another home contest on the schedule, the Cougars will look to build on the middle-innings surge from Friday's game and convert early opportunities into more consistent run production as the season continues.