The Warriors baseball team hosted the Southwestern College Jaguars in their first home game of the season on Thursday, being defeated 5-2.
The Warriors struggled early on with a couple errors, the most costly in the top of the third inning that led to one of the two runs scored that inning.
Sophomore catcher, Joey Notch, felt that although their momentum was slow at the beginning, due to a lack of energy in the team, he felt his team showed great spirit late in the game, but just couldn’t quite get the runs needed for the win.
“We just didn’t clutch up at the right time,” Notch said. “We need to work on our hitting when we have runners in scoring positions, so we can get the win.”
Sophomore pitcher, Ulices Moreno, felt his team did well at bat and that the turning point was around the sixth inning. The Warriors had the bases loaded, but just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to score.
After giving up two runs in the third, the Warriors were able to score off of a double to center field by freshman second baseman, Darrian Sylvester, which brought in freshman designated hitter, Zach Decuitus.
The Warriors got a final run in the seventh inning after an RBI single to center field by Notch, which brought in Sylvester for the score.
The top hitters on the day for the Warriors were Decuitus, Sylvester, and Notch, all recording five hits against Jaguar pitchers Dylan McDonald and Danny Siwek.
The team’s biggest problem seemed to be leaving runners on base, a total of 11 against Southwestern. Notch pointed out the same problem the Warriors had a couple games ago against Bakersfield, where they recorded eight runners left on base.
Coach Nate Fernley spoke on the team’s hard work later on in the game.
“There was no specific moment in the game that could serve as a turning point,” Fernley said. “But the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings offensively were very strong, with our singles, doubles, and runs scored.”
Fernley also spoke on the Warriors’ need of some clutch hitting.
“If only some magic pixie dust could be spread on our bats to help us out with the clutch hitting,” Fernley joked. “But, you know, you can’t really teach clutch hitting, it’s sometimes just about getting lucky. But, as long as we keep working, we can improve.”
When asked which players he felt stood out in the game, Fernley listed Moreno, Decuitus, Sylvester.
“Moreno did very well on the mound, Decuitus and Sylvester both did very well offensively,” Fernley explained.
After this loss, the Warriors record drops to 2-2. They will be looking to improve their record in their game at LA Mission on Saturday Feb. 7.
