PASADENA, CA— Anarchy!

The fans at Jackie Robinson were in for a treat, and a baseball superfan, Keith Franklin, was in attendance.

Franklin is a diehard Cal State Fullerton fan and was in for a treat as Saints left fielder and Cal State Fullerton player had another great at the plate, going 3-4 with three runs and three runs batted in during the Saints nailbiting 14-13 win over the San Diego Sun Rays.

“He’s at every [Fullerton] game; he actually came to Hawaii this year,” Schardt said.

The Saints have played in several high-scoring games so far, but unlike the others, their opponents matched them every step of the way, which added a little pressure to the hitters.

“Everyone’s nerves are going a little bit,” Schardt said. “You’re not as loose at the plate.”

Arroyo Seco scored its first run without recording a hit as left fielder Jakob Schardt (Cal State Fullerton) gave it a 1-0 lead on a throwing error in the bottom of the first.

The Saints weren’t done yet as third baseman Josh Livingston (Wichita State)  hit a two-run double to put them up 3-0 on Sun Rays starter Brenden Morris (Colorado Mesa).

The lead didn’t last long as the Sun Rays took a 4-3 lead in the top of the second off of Saints’ starter Damian Pasillas (Azusa Pacific).

Arroyo Seco took the lead right back with singles from Schardt and Livingston to go ahead 6-4 in the bottom of the second.

Just like last inning, San Diego took the lead right back, going up 7-6 in the top of the third.

The game remained 7-6 until the bottom of the fourth when Saints first baseman Joey Donnelly (UC Berkeley) hit a game-tying single.

The Saints built their largest lead of the night in the bottom of the fifth when right fielder Peter Werth (portal), center fielder Crew McChesney (BYU), Schardt, and second baseman Cam Conley (Pepperdine) all scored to put the Saints up 11-7. But just like they had all game, the Sun Rays fought back and evened the score in the next inning against Saints reliever Michael Nunez (Loyola Marymount).

Arroyo Seco went back ahead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI from McChesney, Werth scoring on a throwing error, and a sacrifice fly from Schardt.

San Diego cut the lead to one in the eighth but wouldn’t threaten in the ninth as Aiden Pollock (Nevada) pitched a scoreless inning and picked up a save.

With the win, the Saints improve to 11-8 before heading up north for a weekend series in San Luis Obispo.

• Saints reporter Dylan Gonzales (Fresno State)
• Saints photographer Elijah Hickman (Cal Baptist University)