Strike, after strike, after strike.

As pitcher Jeff McKinley took the mound Tuesday, he proved to be the dominant figure as he threw six scoreless innings, allowing a mere five hits against the Pasadena City College Lancers.

Before the team can rest and enjoy its upcoming bye week, it must first face the Lancers again, today at home, at 2 p.m.

In their last two meetings, the Warriors have outscored the Lancers, 13-3, as McKinley pitched both games throwing 12 scoreless innings.

“Pasadena is not a great team, but they’re much improved,” coach Tom Bergeron said.

McKinley’s six scoreless innings, along with his four strikeouts and two walks, was all the Warriors needed to take a 6-1 victory over the Lancers. He improved his record to 3-0.

“He jumped ahead, which was very important. He made a couple of mistakes, but managed to hold the runners on base,” Bergeron said. “McKinley’s a real tough pitcher.”

The win also puts the team three games above .500, as it now possesses an overall record of 11-8, and is tied for second in the conference with a 6-3 record.

“We’re still a couple of games back in the conference. We have to keep winning and get a little help from the other teams as well,” McKinley said.

When the opposition did pose a threat for McKinley, he was able to make them hit groundballs, which ultimately led to four key innings ending in double plays.

McKinley’s pitching scheme allowed him to get ahead of the count early, as he was able to locate with his fastball, curveball and change-up.

“I pretty much knew them this time around. I knew who their best hitter was and I was able to shut him and the rest of the team down,” McKinley said.

The bullpen, which consisted of pitchers Charles Boyden, Josh Rose and Craig Ganser, shut down the Lancers offense from the seventh inning on; they allowed one run on a total of four hits.

Heading into the game, Bergeron benched a couple of his starters. Reasons for his action were not given.

Third baseman Dane Braunecker paced the team as he hit a double late during the sixth inning, which drove in two runs. Braunecker finished the game two for four.

Not far behind him was second baseman Mike Moretti, who despite not driving in a run, batted three for four with three singles, a walk and a run scored.

“The guys that did play performed pretty well,” Bergeron said. “We have enough depth on this team that I’m not worried about benching some guys.”

For the Warriors, it’s not only their third consecutive conference win, but it’s also the third straight game in which they have held the opposing teams to one run.

“Our pitchers have done pretty well to shut down the other teams,” Bergeron said.

While everyone else on campus will be enjoying their spring break, the baseball team will not, as it will not have a chance to put its bats away.

The team will have to play each team in its conference twice more before moving on to the regional playoffs.

“With these upcoming games, we have to continue our same routine throughout the week and play good ball,” McKinley said.

With playoffs within reach, the Warriors will continue to work hard.

“We have to hustle during these next couple of games if we want to make it into playoffs,” Bergeron said.