The Roadrunners were able to pull off the most unlikely of victories against the Cerro Coso Coyotes. The Roadrunners’ ability to fight back and play comfortably in tight games was displayed on St. Patricks Day.

The start of the game was a little out of the ordinary. The Coyotes lead-off man skied a routine fly-ball into the center, but center fielder William Owens lost the ball in the sunny sky, which led to a triple. The Roadrunners attempted a hidden ball trick. However, starting pitcher Kenneth Schechter was called for a balk, which allowed the game’s first run to score.

After the odd series of events, Schechter could settle into his start. It was Schechter’s fifth start of the season, and it was a strong one. The righty tossed six and a third, surrendered four runs, three earned, allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Schechter was given a no-decision.

The game remained a stalemate until the bottom of the fifth. Owens drove in Brian Parry for the first run for the Roadrunners, and Jaxon Millet followed up with a RBI single of his own, making the score 2-1.

Schechter ran into some trouble as he allowed two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, making the score 4-2. He was then relieved in the seventh by lefty Michael-Alan Stanford. Stanford got out of a jam in the seventh by inducing a ground-out and then striking out a batter for the final out. Stanford was in full command in his outing, as he fired two and two-thirds innings, allowing no earned runs with three strikeouts.

In the bottom half of the eighth, Spencer Dickinson swatted a solo home run to score 4-3. It was Dickinson’s team-leading fourth home run of the year. However, Cerro Coso was able to plate two more in the top of the ninth, making the score 6-3.

In the bottom half of the ninth, the Roadrunners were able to mount their comeback. Joe Jimenez walked, and Parry ripped a double over the third baseman to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Dalton Thomas drew a walk to load up the bases for Owens. Jimenez scored on a wild pitch, scoring 4-6 with runners on second and third for Owens. Owens grounded out, which allowed Parry to score, putting the Roadrunners down by one. Thomas developed a clutch stolen base, which put the tying run 90 feet away. With two outs, Dillon Baker was the last hope for the Roadrunners. Down to his last strike, Baker could float a base-hit into no mans’ land to tie the game 6-6.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the 12th. With two down, the Roadrunners could work their magic once again. Parry was able to work a walk, and Thomas was able to single to put runners on second and first with Owens at the plate. On a 3-1 pitch, Owens lined a double over the left fielder’s head to score the game-winning run. The comeback was complete after 12 hard-fought innings. “Rough start in center-field, but my teammates had my back,” said Owens. “When I stepped into the box and fouled the first pitch back, I knew I would end the game.” The game started with Owens, and Owens was able to put on the final touches.

This was COD’s ninth win out of their last 10 games, and they sit at first place in the conference with a record of 7-1. Everything is firing on all cylinders at the moment. Hitters have been able to come up with timely hits, pitchers have been able to shut opposing offenses down and the defense has been stellar. The Roadrunners take on the Chaffey Panthers in the coming week, as it will be the biggest test for the team.

To find the team’s schedule, you can visit codathletics, or they can visit their Instagram cod baseball. To tune into future home games, you can watch the live stream on their Facebook, COD baseball.