Having only allowed one run in five relief appearances on the season, pitcher Clint Manzo had impressed Merced College coach Chris Pedretti.
The Blue Devil skipper was so pleased with what he'd seen in Manzo's 7 1/3 innings pitched, he gave the freshman an audition at a starting role on Thursday afternoon against West Hills.
At the very least, Manzo earned himself a second look.
Merced Sun-Star - Blue Devils pitcher Clint Manzo delivers a pitch during a 4-2 victory over West Hills on Thursday afternoon. In his first collegiate start, Manzo allowed two runs on five hits while striking out eight in eight complete innings.
Merced Sun-Star - Blue Devils left fielder Hunter Adrian makes a leaping effort, but can't come up with this double against West Hills on Thursday. Merced College won the game 4-2 and improved to 5-0 in the CVC.
Merced Sun-Star - Merced College's Tynan Pedretti dives safely into third with a triple against West Hills.
The 6-foot-5 hurler held West Hills to two runs on five hits in eight complete innings to earn a win in his first collegiate start.
The Blue Devil offense pushed across just enough as MC improved to 5-0 in the Central Valley Conference with the 4-2 victory.
"Manzo had done everything we'd asked of him in the bullpen and we wanted to get a look at how he'd handle a start.
"You like to keep your options open for down the road.
"He had some bad luck in the first inning with Hunter (Adrian) trying to make a play on the ball, but he bounced right back after giving up a couple runs and made some good pitches the rest of the way."
The only real trouble the Eagles could muster came in the first inning.
Joe Jones laced a single down the first-base line to leadoff the game and James Patton followed with a line drive to left.
Adrian charged hard at the dipping ball, but decided too late he didn't have a play on it. The ball skipped past him and West Hills had runners on second and third with no one out.
Both runners came home on consecutive fielder's choices, but Manzo found his groove after that.
He retired the next nine batters in order and didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning.
"I felt really good out there," said Manzo, who struck out eight. "After they scored those two runs I really calmed down and just started making pitches."
MC leadoff man Art Corona helped erase the deficit.
The Blue Devils second baseman has been on fire since coming back from injury, entering Thursday's action with eight hits and nine runs in his last three games.
His hot hand continued with a 2-for-3 performance and three more runs scored. Corona rounded out his day with a pair of defensive gems at second.
"I'm seeing the ball well right now," said Corona, who upped his average to a team-best .484. "I'm just happy to be back and helping the team win."
Sean Fasig shut the door in the ninth for MC, earning his second save of the season.
Ian Fregosi drove in a pair of runs for the Blue Devils, including a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that put MC up for good.
Tynan Pedretti and Connor Oldcorn each went 2-for-4 at the plate for MC.
At Merced College
West Hills 200 000 000 -- 2 5 1
Merced College 102 010 00x -- 4 10 1
John Stantistevan, Joe Jones (5) and Brad Arnold. Clint Manzo, Sean Fasig (9) and Michael Stewart. WP -- Manzo 1-0. LP -- Stantistevan 3-2.
WEST HILLS -- James Patton 2B (R), Joe Gonzalez 2B.
MERCED COLLEGE -- Art Corona 2-3 (2B, 3 R), Ian Fregosi 2 RBI, Hunter Adrian 2-2 (2B), Tynan Pedretti 2-4 (3B), Connor Oldcorn 2-4 (2B).
Records: West Hills 4-4 CVC, 10-6; Merced College 5-0 CVC, 8-5.
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