No. 2 Cypress Rolls Past No. 23 East LA in 11-2 Regional Opener

CYPRESS, CA – The No. 2 seed Cypress College Chargers opened the 3C2A SoCal Regional Playoffs with a commanding 11-2 win over No. 23 East Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Powered by a relentless offensive attack and steady pitching, the Chargers moved one win away from advancing to the next round of postseason play.

Cypress wasted no time getting on the board, scoring in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly from Evan Rolbiecki that brought home Bradley Navarro. Despite a brief 2-1 lead for the Huskies in the top of the second, the Chargers quickly flipped the momentum.

The Chargers responded with a three-run second inning that included an RBI single by Rolbiecki and a wild pitch that allowed Navarro to score, regaining a 4-2 lead. In the fourth, Cypress broke the game open when Dustin Robinson launched a three-run homer, followed by a sacrifice fly from Braden Ruiz to extend the lead to 8-2.

Cypress continued to pour it on in the later innings. In the seventh, both Justin Tillar and Rolbiecki went yard with solo home runs, and Navarro capped the scoring in the eighth with an RBI single.

On the mound, Tommy McGuire earned the win after throwing seven solid innings, allowing just six hits and two runs while striking out six. Andrew Banda closed it out with two scoreless innings, striking out two and walking two.

Rolbiecki finished the day 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a home run, while Robinson matched him with three RBIs on two hits. Tillar added two hits, two runs, and a solo shot of his own.

UP NEXT: The Chargers (32-9) will look to clinch the best-of-three series on Saturday when they face the Huskies (19-21) in Game 2 at Cypress College. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

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