FLC baseball team hangs on for a crazy win

With the warm sun and just a hint of a breeze, Falcon Field was an idyllic setting on Tuesday afternoon for a baseball game. And when the Falcons took a 10-0 lead over visiting Mendocino after just four innings, things were looking downright rosy for the home team. With an 11-1 lead after six innings, head coach Rich Gregory inserted a host of reserves who were hungry for some playing time. Starter Gabe Emmett had done his job and was in line to pick up the win, having pitched six strong innings while allowing one unearned run and just two hits. But in the seventh, three Falcon relievers failed to get an out while nine consecutive Eagles reached base by various means. The Eagles benefitted from four hits, four walks, an error, a wild pitch, and a passed ball to the tune of seven runs before the first out was recorded. By the time the inning ended, two more runs crossed the plate, making it a very uncomfortable 11-10 Falcon lead. It stayed that way until the ninth, when the Eagles took advantage of a leadoff walk – and with the help of a passed ball – manufactured the tying run. But in the bottom half of the inning, the Falcons responded by loading the bases on two hits and a walk, then got the walk-off win when outfielder Braeden Holliday was hit by a pitch, forcing in the winning run. Although not exactly what coach Gregory had in mind, the win was the Falcons' 10th of the young season and preserved the Falcons' perfect 6-0 record at home in 2020. The Falcons will play at Contra Costa on Thursday, then return home to host the Comets on Friday afternoon in their final non-conference game before opening Big 8 play next week. Tennis The FLC tennis teams had their hands full on Tuesday, as they opened their 2020 Big 8 Conference schedule at the Lorimer-Bruns Tennis Complex against arguably the best team in the North Region, American River. The Beavers performed as expected, defeating the Folsom Lake men and women, 9-0 and 8-1, respectively. The lone winner for the Falcons was No. 3 women's singles player Alora Gardiner, who won 6-3, 6-1. The FLC doubles team of Mallory Snarr and Pipi Gallegos gave the Beavers a tough match at No. 1 doubles, losing 6-8. Snarr also was competitive in singles, falling 5-7, 2-6. Men's Singles &emsp;&emsp; Men's Doubles 1. James James vs Erwin 1-6, 2-6 (L) &emsp;&emsp;James/Ion vs Erwin/Sharma 1-8 (L) 2. Caleb Ion vs Kinder 0-6, 1-6 (L) &emsp;&emsp; Murphy/Schubert vs Kodiji/Moley 0-8 (L) 3. Drew Murphy vs Grutz 0-6, 1-6 (L) Greer/Helm vs Hom/Wall 0-8 (L) 4. Jeremy Schubert vs Wall 2-6, 3-6, (L) 5. Eric Greer vs Hom 2-6, 0-6 (L) 6. Bryce Gehlbach vs Cummings 1-6, 1-6 (L) Women's Singles &emsp;&emsp; Women's Doubles 1. Mallory Snarr vs Van Orman 5-7, 2-6 (L) Snarr/Gallegos vs van Orman/Naumova 6-8 (L) 2. Pili Gallegos vs Naumova 2-6, 3-6 (L) Gardiner/Vairello vs Rasmussen/Privalov 4-8 (L) 3. Alora Gardiner vs Rasmussen 6-3, 6-1 (W) Forfeit 4. Nicci Vaiarello vs Privalov&emsp;&emsp;3-6, 2-6 (L) 5. Kaitlin Gochnauer vs Reade 3-6, 1-6 (L) 6. Forfeit Men's basketball The final home game of the 2019-20 season was a memorable one for the Falcons, as they overcame a three-point halftime deficit against Sierra College to win going away, 69-57, on Tuesday night at Falcon Gym. The Falcons displayed a balanced scoring attack and strong defense while turning away the Wolverines on Sophomore Recognition Night. Appropriately, it was sophomores Grant Bellis, Everett Campbell, Gavyn Kamminga, Clayton Davis, Chris Fairchild, and Jeremy Dexter who willed the team to victory as they played their final game on the Falcon hardwood. They turned a 34-31 deficit into a win by outscoring the Wolverines 38-23 in the second half. The Falcons (7-20 overall, 4-11 in Big 8) play their final game of the 2019-20 season on Friday night at Sacramento City College (19-8, 10-5) at 6 p.m. Women's basketball In their final regular-season game of the 2019-20 season, the Falcons stunned NorCal fourth-ranked Sierra College, 88-79, on Tuesday night at Falcon Gym. Sophomore Shay Boley made the most of Sophomore Recognition Night, as she lit up the Wolverines for 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting (including three-of-five three-pointers) and also grabbed 11 rebounds. The Falcons turned around a game that looked like the Wolverines had in control; after a close first half, Sierra built a nine point advantage in the third quarter. Down 68-59 with 10 minutes to play, the Falcons came storming back and took the lead with six minutes left. They didn't stop there, either, as they built an insurmountable lead with two minutes to go, outscoring the Wolverines 29-11 over the final ten minutes to put an exclamation mark on the win. Including Boley's 31 points, the Falcons had five players in double figures: Taylor Sexton with 14, Dejanet Porter had 13, and Shaina Shah and Delaney Keddie scored 12 apiece. The victory gave the Falcons a 7-7 record in Big 8 play, good enough for fourth place in the toughest conference in the state. The Falcons must now await the results of Sunday's NorCal seeding meeting to learn their first-round opponent in the CCCAA state playoffs, slated for Friday, February 28.