GAME RECAP: Irvine Valley Makes it 5 in a Row to start 2026

by Colin Costigan

In their second meeting of the 2026 campaign, the Irvine Valley College Lasers pulverized the West Los Angeles Wildcats 17-1 at the IVC baseball field on Saturday. 

After eviscerating the Wildcats 22-2 on the road last week, the Lasers brought the same intensity to their own field. For a Lasers squad that was already atop the Orange Empire Conference with 55 hits, their bats stayed hot, collecting 17 more hits. 

Through small-ball tactics and situational hitting, the Lasers’ steady approach laid the foundation for a dominant performance. 

“We’re trying to take a consistent approach up and down the lineup, (we’re) trying to get off to a good start in terms of the at-bat’s early,” said Head Coach Kent Madole. “We like to skill early, get some runs across, and then get some free at-bat’s.” 

That consistent approach was evident throughout the first half of the game for the Lasers. In just the first four innings alone, they laid down three successful sacrifice bunts. One of those bunts generated the first run of the game for the Lasers when sophomore Jake Amundson brought in fellow sophomore Brandon Abernathy from third on a successful squeeze play. 

Another crucial aspect of the Lasers’ success was their plate discipline. During that same stretch, the Lasers fatigued the arms of the Wildcats, forcing five walks. 

Crucial back-to-back walks in the second inning induced a bases loaded situation that later brought in two runs. Another walk in the fourth inning set the stage for Amundson when he launched a towering two-run shot over the left-center field wall. 

Amundson was doing it all for the Lasers at the dish – laying down bunts, tapping dribblers back to the mound to drive in runs and blasting one over the fence, as his five RBI’s allowed the Lasers to take control early. 

Beyond the field, Amundson has been rehabbing a torn ACL injury he sustained midway through last season. Despite batting .383 before the injury, he has picked up right where he left off, batting .292 with two homers – matching his total from last season.

“It’s been long, it’s been tough, but I have a good support system,” said Amundson. “It’s just been a process but I’m happy to be back.”

On the flip side, the Wildcats had plenty of opportunities to claw their way back into this game, they just simply could not cash in. 

Through their first five innings, they had a runner on base in every inning, but failed to scrape across a run. Particularly, in the fourth inning, they let a golden opportunity get away from them when they hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. They also followed that up with another inning-ending double play in the fifth with runners on first and second. The Wildcats left nine runners on base during this stretch and had just one hit with a runner in scoring position.  

A major contributor to that was the Lasers’ starting pitcher, Jackson Chastain. Despite recording just three strikeouts and giving up seven hits in five innings pitched, Chastain never wavered and kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard. 

The Lasers continued to pile it on, scoring three more runs in the bottom of the fifth off three hits and two costly Wildcat errors. 

The Wildcats eventually got themselves on the board in the top of the seventh, yet the Lasers went off bottom of the eighth. With a completely different lineup in and facing position players on the mound, the Lasers sent seven hitters to the plate before the first out was recorded and added seven runs in the inning to make it 17-1. 

With this win, the Lasers have their longest undefeated streak to begin a season within the last 14 years, surpassing their 4-0 start in the 2015 season. They’ll look to continue the streak on the road against Ventura College. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.