For the Warriors, it felt like a bad dream that the team couldn’t wake up from.
Having lost three out of four games last week, the team arrived at East Los Angeles College on Tuesday determined to shake off the nightmare.
The Warriors found its dream catcher in Bobby Martin (1-for-3), who in the seventh inning of the game with the bases loaded hit a three-RBI double and gave EC a four-run lead and eventually a 7-3 victory over East L.A.
“The count was 3-1, and I was looking for a fastball, and when I (found it), I hit it and it went over the center fielder’s head,” Martin said. “I was pretty stoked that I hit a double to score three runs in.”
The Warriors (13-6, 4-3) are currently tied with College of the Desert in third place in the Southern California rankings.
“We did fairly well. Kyle (Petter) pitched eight innings and gave up three runs and pitched really well,” coach Nate Fernley said. “We ended up scoring runs when we needed them. It was a good game.”
Starting pitcher Petter, sophomore, threw eight innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out eight batters.
“I kept the ball down and I hit my spots today and I felt good,” Kyle said. “It was a big win for us; it was a big momentum builder because we lost three out of four games last week and we needed this win to get back into the swing of things.”
Garret Cooper (1-for-2), freshman first baseman, also put the Warriors on the scoreboard earlier in the game, with a grand slam in the fifth inning.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play and all of a sudden I hit it and it flew into the air and out of the park,” Cooper said.
On Saturday, EC traveled to cross-town rival Harbor College for its first game this season. But, to the Warriors’ dismay, it couldn’t keep up with the Seahawks lineup.
“We just didn’t play characteristically like we normally do,” Fernley said. “Normally we are a lot better at throwing strikes and a lot better defensively. When you combine bad pitching and bad played balls, we get the results we got.”
Although the score was close for most of the game, the Warriors lost complete control in the bottom of the eighth inning where the Seahawks scored four runs that gave Harbor an 18-10 lead and gave the Seahawks the eventual 18-11 victory over the Warriors.
“We gave them a lot of base runners and when you make big errors there’s a problem,” Fernley said.
Last Thursday, the team hosted Cerritos College and were shut down by the Falcons’ pitcher, losing 7-3.
“They had a pitcher that was very, very good,” Fernley said. “He threw a complete game; a five-hitter and only allowed two runs. He did a very good job in shutting us down in that game.”
Up next, the Warriors will host Mt. San Antonio College today at Warrior Field at 2:30 p.m.
“They’ve been pitching pretty well and they’ve been playing pretty good defense, so I expect it to be a close and good game,” Fernley said. “We are a game behind them now for the conference lead so it should be a good series.”