At risk of a season-long three-game losing streak, another defeat seemed certain for the Long Beach Coast after RedPocket Mobiles starting pitcher Adam Christopher’s solid eight innings, in which he allowed only four hits, one walk and one earned run.
After a late offensive spark tilted the lead their way, the Mobiles (13-45) sent out Christopher in the ninth to complete his masterpiece. Four batters later, the game was over — the Coast (45-13) rallied to win the game 3-2 while Christopher, freshly pulled from the game, looked on from the dugout.
Blair Field was the venue for Friday’s thrilling pitchers’ duel as both starters stifled the opposing offense.
Christopher did not have flashy stats entering Friday’s matchup due to his propensity to surrender the long ball. His 10 home runs allowed in 35 ⅓ innings have contributed to a 7.90 ERA and 0-3 record. However, his pitch command is spectacular, as evidenced by his 1.3 bases on balls per nine innings. That rate is second-lowest in the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL).
Coast starter Nick Bautista allowed three hits, one walk and one earned run in seven innings. Although Bautista didn’t receive much run support, he relished the tight battle.
“It’s a competitive mode like, ‘Alright, this guy wants to go with me. Just go back to back. Let’s do this,’” Bautista said.
The highlight of Bautista’s box score was the season-high nine strikeouts he registered, a mark he has reached twice before.
“Just keeping the same game plan, going out there, making sure I’m executing my pitches,” Bautista said about his strikeouts. “Certain counts, just staying in there and not falling into hitter accounts.”
Offensive firepower was sparse, yet significant from both sides as each run either broke or forced a tie.
Right fielder Easton Jones opened up the scoring in the second inning by ripping a double down the third-base line, driving in first baseman Cooper Vest from first base. This is nothing new for BYU Cougars fans who saw those two team up in Provo from 2023 to 2025.
The Mobiles threatened to even the score in the seventh inning after designated hitter Justin Johnson and center fielder T.J. McKenzie both smacked singles up the middle. Marquis Jackson replaced Johnson as a pinch runner at second base, prompting both runners to execute a double steal to perfection after Bautista’s pitch found its way in the dirt.
“I was aware of it the first time and I held them on pretty good,” Bautista said regarding the possibility of a double steal. “It just slipped my mind. I was like, ‘Alright, I got to execute a pitch here.’ Heard him taking off, and that was honestly just a mistake on my end.”
The Mobiles cashed in, albeit at a price. Third baseman Efrain Manzo bounced the 2-2 pitch off the infield grass and grounded out to the second baseman as Jackson scampered home to tie the game at one apiece.
With one out and a full count, Kishon Frett, pinch hitter for left fielder Royce Clayton Jr., belted the ball to the trees in left-center field to give the Mobiles a 2-1 lead and Christopher a clear path to his first win of the season. Entering Friday, Frett was the only Mobile player on their active roster to hit a home run at Blair Field this season. Frett’s eighth-inning blast was his second at Blair Field this season.
Although only down by a single run, the Coast had a tall task ahead of them in the bottom of the ninth. Christopher, on the verge of a complete game, had retired 18 of the previous 19 batters he faced. Fortunately, the middle of the order was scheduled to hit, starting with center fielder Emilio Corona, who started his first game at the No. 3 spot Friday.
Corona reached base almost immediately by recording a single off a 0-1 pitch to give the Coast life. A wild pitch sent Corona hustling to second base to represent the tying run in scoring position.
Catcher Cuba Bess worked a full count and slapped the ball in between the first and second basemen, which rolled into right field. Corona’s game-tying run scored with ease as the ball slipped out of right fielder Braylon Bishop’s possession while transferring the ball from glove to throwing hand.
That sequence led to the Mobiles pulling Christopher from the game and Nathan Darden taking over pitching duties. Next at the plate, Vest ricocheted the 1-0 pitch off the mound as the ball sailed past the outstretched arm of the shortstop and landed safely in center field.
Jones, a mid-season acquisition, stepped up to the plate with runners on first and third and a chance to win in his fifth game for the Coast. He made solid contact on the second pitch as he drilled a liner to left field, which screamed past the diving left fielder.
Jones knew right away the game was over, flicking the bat out of the batter’s box. Although it was the Coast’s third walk-off victory in 2026, Friday’s game was the first in which they finished it off a base hit.
The victory prevented the Coast’s first-ever three-game losing streak and allowed them to stay on top of the overall PBL standings by 1.5 games. It was also the team’s first win in a game scoring three runs or fewer.
“We needed it bad,” Bautista said. “Our boys have been struggling a little bit, but when we need it, they’re coming through so that’s all we ask for.”
The Coast will wrap up their series against the Mobiles this weekend before embarking on a 12-game road trip.
