Chaffey Baseball Drops Series Against Cerro Coso
By Andre Manzo
Despite their greatest efforts to showcase competitiveness, Chaffey continues to struggle as they drop the last two games of a three game series against Cerro Coso, 9-8 and 8-3.
On the road on Mar. 12, the Panthers lost in a fashion that encapsulates their season.
In an 8-8 game at the bottom of the ninth inning, Cerro Coso’s leadoff hitter Deri Steiert-Couturer, reached first base on an error. He advanced to second on a groundout, then reached third on a wild pitch.
Steiert-Couturer then scored an unearned run off of an error by Chaffey pitcher Liam Good, winning the game for Cerro Coso in a disappointing walk-off fashion.
Good played well, throwing an efficient 3.1 innings, allowing only one earned run of two total runs. He took the loss on his record, but shined out of the bullpen until a costly mistake.
Up until the bottom of the ninth inning, Chaffey had played a clean game of baseball with only one error across eight innings of work. Hence, they hung around against a team they had lost to 13-6 the game prior.
Despite the loss, Chaffey was able to display the stark difference of a team that is competent, so long as they help themselves with clean action around the diamond.
Before their disastrous ninth inning, Chaffey was able to string together two four-run innings in the fifth and sixth.
In a prior interview before going on the road, Head Coach Grant Mayeaux expressed the need for Chaffey to capitalize when they put runners on base.
“We haven’t been super great at situational hitting” he said, explaining the need to “have good at bats, letting the pressure come off of us and making the other team make plays.”
Following that statement, the clubhouse was able to take a step in the right direction, putting traffic on the bases with early hits and forcing Cerro Coso to make plays. Cerro Coso extended the inning with several walks and an error, giving Chaffey the edge to tie the game across two innings of work.
However, despite scoring four in the sixth inning, Chaffey disappointed by not tagging on any more runs. With zero out, they left the bases loaded in a tie game. Three consecutive outs failed to advance any baserunners, slamming the brakes on an inning that could have given them a sizable lead.
Yet, that is the old ball game. Embracing pressure and treating it as routine is perhaps the most important aspect of the game, and the team that can do it better, usually finds their way on top.
Cerro Coso won the final game of the series 8-3, sweeping Chaffey at Lowder Field.
Cerro Coso jumped on the Panthers early with a second inning solo home run by Andrew Bain, who homered twice in the three games.
Andrew Bain continues to power the middle of the lineup for Cerro Coso. He has eight total extra base hits with five home runs in twelve conference games.
After a five-run second inning, the scoring was sparse across the rest of the game. Hayden Hull and Adrian Morales were able to shoot singles past the infield gloves, bringing in three runs across home plate and cutting Cerro Coso’s lead to two.
Morales continues to exhibit a great approach with runners on base. He has eight runs batted in (RBI) with 11 hits in conference play. His .314 batting average (BA) is only second on the team’s to Robert Morales’ .318 in conference games.
Freshmen in the program are beginning to shape their place as Chaffey strives to find continuity for the coming years.
The Chaffey bats were quiet from then on, allowing Cerro Coso to tag on three more runs in the late innings that were extended with a Chaffey error.
Davis Sharp pitched a season-high 105 pitches, going six innings. He allowed five earned runs in the second, but recovered mightily and finished his outing strong and silenced Cerro Coso’s offense.
The Chaffey pitching staff is developing young players that are showing the ability to bounce back, giving the opportunity for the offense to hit their way back into games.
Chaffey hopes to bounce back from the sweep starting Tuesday, Mar. 17. They begin a three-game series against Barstow College, who are 4-5 in conference games.
On the road, Chaffey hopes to balance clean defense with an aggressive approach at the plate to get back in the win column.