BCHS advances to regional baseball semifinal
May 30—The hits just keep coming and there are certainly no complaints from the Bakersfield Christian baseball team.
The Eagles launched three solo home runs and three pitchers combined on a three-hitter as No. 2 BCHS cruised to a 5-1 victory over No. 7 Long Beach Poly in the opening game of the Southern California Regional Division III playoffs.
"It was a great team win," BCHS coach Mark Ratekin said. "Our pitching was good, we didn't allow a lot of extra base hits, our defense was solid and we hit three home runs, which isn't typical for us at home. We did what we needed to win the game."
Bakersfield Christian (26-7) will host No. 3 San Diego-Patrick Henry (20-12) in Thursday's regional semifinal, with a berth in Saturday's final on the line. The Patriots defeated No. 6 Whittier-La Serna in their first-round matchup.
"It all comes down to pitching this time of the season, and I feel like we have one of the best pitching staffs in the Valley and the state," Ratekin said. "We have a lot of depth and that's the key going forward."
Mason Brassfield got things started with a solo home run in the second inning to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead, and then after the Jackrabbits (24-5) tied it in the third, he held his opponents in check in five innings of work.
"For me, I know I've been struggling a little bit at the plate, but I also understand that I still need to provide for my team," said Brassfield, who was hitless in his last three playoff games entering Tuesday's contest. "So I've been trying to just keep my head down and keep grinding. So when I was at the plate I was looking to hit the ball hard to provide for my team."
The junior left-hander allowed just two hits, striking out eight and pitched around five walks to improve to 3-0 in the postseason and 9-1 overall.
"When I was pitching, I knew I was supposed to go in there and compete and pound the zone," Brassfield said. "And that's what I was able to do today."
And his performance at the plate helped him settle in.
