Baseball
Daniel Tatis had his best game as a Knight on Thursday as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI to help San Diego City get a 12-2 home win over Imperial Valley and snap an 11-game losing streak. Starting pitcher Dustyn Burns struck out seven batters in seven innings to improve his record to 3-3 on the season.
The Knights went into the bottom of the 9th inning down by five, but they put together a 6-run rally to complete an 8-7 comeback win over previously undefeated Grossmont. San Diego City had five straight hits and Jeremiah Morgan then scored the winning run on a botched double play.
Two days after falling at College of the Desert, 10-9, in 10 innings, the Knights responded with a 6-4 home opening win over Desert on Thursday in which starting pitcher Dustyn Burns allowed only one hit in 6.1 scoreless innings.
Six sophomores were named to the all-PCAC team after their most successful season since 2010 in which they won 22 games and qualified for the postseason for the first time in 14 years. Isaiah Hilke, Alejandro Gonzalez, Bobby Perebzak, and Jacob Pfitzner were selected to the all-PCAC first team, while pitchers Avery Laine and Erik Radder earned honorable mention.
The Knights (22-18) are playoff bound for the first time in 14 years as the No. 22 seed in the 3C2A Southern California regionals. They are set to play a best-of-three series against No. 3 Golden West (28-12) with game one scheduled for Friday, May 3 at 2 p.m.
San Diego City went into the bottom of the ninth down by two runs, but rallied with three runs to beat Mesa, 9-8, in front of the largest home crowd of the season. Jake Pfitzner hti his state-leading 15th home run and starting pitcher Avery Laine struck out nine to bring his total to 84.
San Diego City recorded a season-high 20 hits, including a combined nine from Isaiah Hilke and Alejandro Gonzalez, in Tuesday's 17-8 home win over Mesa in which starting pitcher Bobby Perebzak reached 100 strikeouts on the season.
The Knights extended their win streak to five with a 9-8 home victory over IVC on Saturday with Jacob Pfitzner, Isaiah Hilke, Alex Gonzalez, and Jackson Ely each hitting home runs as the Knights improved to 18-14 overall and 10-9 in the PCAC.
Jacob Pfitzner hit two home runs and five other Knights had at least two hits, including Landyn Magina who went 4-for-5, in Thursday's 17-4 win at Imperial Valley. It was the third win in a row as they Knights improved to 16-14 overall and 9-9 in the PCAC.
San Diego City came into Saturday's series finale against Southwestern having lost the previous two games, but the Knights responded with seven runs in the first two innings to win, 10-6, with Jesse Chacon and Jake Pfitzner each hitting home runs.
The Knights scored six runs in the seventh inning to help turn a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 road win on Friday at Grossmont as the Knights improved to 13-12 overall and 6-7 in the PCAC. It was the second comeback win over the Griffins this week to help the Knights win the season series, 3-2.
Sophomore pitcher Avery Laine struck out a career-high 14 batters for the second time this season in a 7-0 home win over Mesa to help the Knights move into a second place tie in the PCAC with a 4-4 record. It was also the second time this season that Laine and closer Erik Radder earned a combined shutout.
Jacob Pfitzner blasted three home runs in his first three at bats to help the Knights defeat Grossmont, 12-6, at Morley Field to open the PCAC season. Aiden Joaquin struck out five in 5.1 innings to earn his first win in his first start as the Knights improved to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in conference.
San Diego City had its best offensive showing of this young season with 19 hits, five home runs, and 12 RBI in a 17-5 home win over Desert. Quinn Johnson, Jacob Pfitzner, Alejandro Gonzalez, Jackson Ely, and Luke Rohen all blasted the ball over Morley Field's fence as the Knights improved to 4-2.
Sophomore lefty Bobby Perebzak struck out a career-high 14 batters on opening day to help the Knights earn a 1-0 home win over Compton. Sophomore Quinn Johnson drove in the game's only run on a triple and sophomore righty Erik Radder earned the save.
Sophomore pitcher Quinn Oliver is headed to the next level after committing to play at Stanislaus State on a scholarship. Oliver started his college career at City in the Covid-shortened 2020 season and then played two full seasons with the Knights in 2022 and 2023.
