Chaffey Baseball Opens Season With Split Series

The Chaffey College baseball team split their season-opening series against Fullerton College on Friday, winning the first game 16-7 before dropping the second 13-12 in a thrilling Hornet comeback. 

In the season opener, the Panthers rallied from a 1-3 deficit early in the game. AJ Hurtado sparked the comeback with his first homerun, closing the gap to 2-3. The Panthers offense then exploded, scoring 3 runs in the fourth, 6 in the fifth, 4 in the sixth, and their final run in the bottom of the eighth to secure a 16-7 victory. 

The second game started strong for Chaffey, with their bats creating a 5-run lead in the top of the first inning. Dillon Smalls initiated the scoring with a sacrifice fly, bringing home Jayden Sanchez. RyderYoung followed, stealing home to extend the lead to 2-0. With two outs and two Panthers on base, Eric Valdivia connected, sending the ball over the fence for his first home run of the year and a 5-0 lead. 

The Panthers continued to build their lead and entered the bottom of the ninth with a commanding 12-7 advantage. However, as is often the case in baseball, no lead is ever truly safe. The Hornets rallied, scoring six runs to complete an improbable 13-12 comeback victory against Chaffey. 

"Although we couldn't close out the second game, I'm encouraged by the play of our position players," said Head Coach Andrew Smith. "Our bats have remained hot since pre-season, and we're making aggressive and smart plays on the basepaths." 

Smith highlighted the play of Dillon Smalls and Jordan Daniels, both of whom were bright spots throughout the weekend. Smalls, a 6'6" utility player from Redlands East Valley High School, batted .571 with 4 RBIs, 5 runs, and a stolen base in the two games. Daniels, another freshman product of Ramona High School, batted .375 with an RBI and 2 runs. "Jordan hit the cover off the ball all week," Smith said. "Even though he only had three hits, he had a very productive series." 

AJ Hurtado, the sophomore catcher from Ramona High School, also had a solid opening series, batting .600 with 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs. 

After the game, Smith addressed the team, highlighting the positives from the weekend and used the second game as an opportunity to learn, grow, and respond. 

While a 2-0 start would have been nice, there are situations where losses can serve as valuable teaching moments—and this was one. "We never want to lose, but it's good to see the guys face these situations early on, which also gives our coaching staff a better feel for the club. This is baseball; weird things happen. We. move on and get back to work. I'm confident we'll grow from it." 

The team returns to action on Tuesday, January 28th as they travel to take on Cypress College. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.