As the Warriors took the field last weekend they were hoping for a clean sweep at home, what they got was a run for their money.
The baseball team lost two of its three scheduled home games, and must now take its game on the road for its next two outings.
“This is a low blow for us,” coach Tom Bergeron said. “These group of guys are just trying to figure out how to win games.”
EC will be playing as the visiting team today as they face Long Beach City College at 2 p.m.
Saturday’s game, which is scheduled as a road game against Compton College at noon, will actually take place on campus since the opposing team does not have a field.
Compton will be treated as the home team, despite playing on the Warriors’ field.
With the team’s most recent loss against L.A. Harbor College, 9-3, the Warriors fell to an overall record of 7-8, while breaking even in the conference with a 3-3 record.
The Seahawks simply out played the Warriors as they managed to pitch and hit better.
Harbor’s starting pitcher Jeff Phillips silenced the Warriors as he pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Phillips threw 91 pitches, 38 of them strikes, walked and hit a batter while striking out five.
“They [Harbor] made some great plays out there, while their offense managed to hit two home runs,” Bergeron said. “They deserved to win.”
The tempo of the game was set early as the Warriors center fielder misplayed the ball, which allowed the lead-off hitter to advance to third base.
From there, it was all downhill for the Warriors as they allowed three runs in the first inning.
“It was a pretty big play because that is how they got their rally started,” pitcher Richard Navarrete said.
“That error was huge. It’s too bad for our center fielder because he usually makes great plays,” Bergeron said.
EC’s pitching struggled early, but managed to settle down a bit as the game progressed.
Starting pitcher Bobby Nunn did not have the best of outings as he pitched only four innings, walking three. Nunn allowed four runs on five hits while retiring six Harbor batters.
Despite the bullpen striking out a total of nine batters, it still wasn’t enough to stop the Seahawks’ offense.
With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Harbor was able to tack on four runs as the Warriors’ pitchers walked six batters, and displayed poor pitching by hitting one of the batters in the arm.
The only offense for EC was designated hitter Billy Hernandez, who went two for four with a single, a double and an RBI.
Center fielder Chris Fox redeemed himself as he contributed with a solo home run in the eighth inning, which was his only hit of the game.
“We actually hit the ball harder this time around,” Navarrete said. “The only thing was that we kept hitting the ball to where their players were at. They just played great defense.”
Before the loss against Harbor, the Warriors beat East L.A. College in a close game, 9-8.
EC blew a six-run lead heading into the eighth inning, but rebounded in the ninth when they had bases loaded.
However, they were able to drive in a run to win the game.
Their two game winning streak was snapped on Saturday as they loss to Mt. SAC, 6-4.
The team had tied it in the fourth inning, but blew it late in the game as it allowed three consecutive runs.
The Warriors were never able to recover.
“These were hard losses that we’ll remember,” Navarrete said. “But these are the types of losses that help you to excel as they get you motivated to perform better.”
The Warriors, currently on a two-game losing streak, were outscored during this three-game home stretch, 23 to 16.
“We have to eliminate the mental mistakes and play our style of baseball,” Navarrete said.
“We’ve struck out with runners in scoring position and have failed to drive them in,” Bergeron said. “It’s frustrating because I know these guys could do better.”
