Allowing four first inning runs is bad, scoring five first inning runs is good. That was the motto for the Mariners in their first true home game on Saturday. After clobbering the comets 22-4, College of Marin began the second half of their double header the wrong way. The Comets scored four, but the Mariners responded with five and pulled out the 8-5 over the visitors from San Pablo. Dionathan Cornet had three hits and Matthew Lozovoy earned the win despite control issues.
Lozovoy struck out the first two batters of the game, but ran into trouble with command. He hit the next batter and walked the following two hitters to load the bases. The following battled lined a single to score two and the subsequent hitter roped a double to put the visitors on top 4-0.
Marin did not delay in rallying as Anthony Pomilia worked a walk with one out. He moved to second on an error and came home on a single by Landen Moran. Conor Bardue reached on a fielder's choice and Cornet singled to load the bases for Randy Fernandez. The sophomore continued his recent hot streak with a single to score Moran for a 4-2 Contra Costa lead. Davis Barkocy worked a bases loaded walk and Nicholas Caravello singled to tie the game up at 4-4. Eric Woodrow hit a ball that was bobbled by the Contra Costa third baseman allowing Fernandez to come to the plate. It was a wild first inning but the Mariners emerged ahead 5-4.
Lozovoy retired the side in the second but faced a rally in the third inning. The leadoff hitter walked and stole second. The following hitter walked before a flyout put runners on the corners. A steal of second had two runners in scoring position before a sacrifice fly tied the game at 5-5.
Marin failed to score in the second and third, but went ahead for good in the fourth. Jacob Berg, Pomilia and Moran walked consecutively to load the bases with no outs. Bardue lofted a deep fly ball that was caught but plated Berg for a 6-5. The team added two more in the sixth on RBI singles by Fernandez and Moran to put the home team ahead by three, 8-5.
On the mound Lozovoy worked his way through the fifth inning to qualify for the win, allowing six walks and five runs in the process. Ryan Moyer threw a scoreless sixth with a pair of strikeouts and Michael Benz came on for a three inning save attempt. It was a wild seventh that saw the visitors threaten but not score. Benz allowed just a walk in the eighth and was 1-2-3 in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Moran had two hits, two runs and two RBI, Cornet had three hits and a run scored while Fernandez was two for three with two RBI and a run.
The win pushes the Mariners record to 15-11 overall and 9-2 the Bay Valley Conference. They sit atop the league with a 1.5 game lead over the Los Medanos Mustangs.