The Bakersfield College Baseball Team (14-20, 9-6) was down 6-2 after the first two innings, but they never gave up and pulled within a score before running out of chances and falling 8-7 to Reedley College (22-11, 9-6) in non-conference road action Wednesday.
Harley Lopez's two RBI single put BC on the board first, but Reedley roared back in short order, scoring a run in the bottom of the first on a Cooper Morrison triple.
After setting the 'Gades down in order in the top of the first, Reedley went to work on BC starter Chris Diaz by singling in their first three at-bats. Alec Akins attempted a sac bunt to plate a runner, but Colby Freeman fielded the ball cleanly at third and fired to catcher Kyle Willman for the putout at home and one out. Morrison knocked in his second run of the day with a sac fly, giving Reedley the lead with two outs when things headed south for the Renegades.
A passed ball advanced Akins and Pittman, opening first base for Grant Farris to reach on an error in the next at-bat and allowing Akins and Sawyer Pittman to score unearned runs.
Three singles later, Reedley held a 6-2 lead. But the Renegades fought back in the top of third.
Brant Combs and Brock Hallum led the inning off with a pair of singles, and Patrick Reynier rocked a double down the leftfield line to score Combs and put Hallum on second. Harley Lopez then hit a sac-fly to CF to plate Hallum, and then Kyle Willman knocked in Reynier with a sac fly of his own.
Despite a rocky start, Diaz beared down and gave the Renegades a chance to fight back in the game. Willman tacked on a run with a solo homer in the seventh, and Brant Combs knocked in Colby Freeman with an infield single in the eighth, but they ran out of chances late and Reedley closer Joe Riley (Sv, 13) got out of the ninth inning without surrendering the tying run.
In the end, the early defecit combined with miscues in the field and on the mound were too much to overcome.
BC will host Saddleback College in a Noon start at Gerry Collis Field Thursday.