game against Santa Rosa on March 14. PHOTO BY JERMAINE DAVIS
The Delta College baseball team remains ranked among the top three teams in the Big 8 Conference, despite losing to Santa Rosa 6-3 in front of the home crowd on March 14.
The Mustangs entered the game against the Bear Cubs with a 2-0 conference record.
Speed and pitching location from Santa Rosa’s starting pitcher Brett Obranovich kept Mustangs hitters off balance.
Obranovich faced 24 batters throughout his seven innings on the mound, as he gave up four hits and allowed one earned run.
“A few calls didn’t go our way, a few of their players hit the ball hard at us and that kind of cost us the game,” said freshmen Kris Bartlett.
Even though it’s still early in conference play, the Mustangs can quickly evaluate what adjustments need to be made on the field and the mound as the team moves forward.
Mustangs starting pitcher sophomore Sean Bennetts had a rough outing on the mound, and the Bear Cubs made the best of the opportunity.
Bennetts surrendered six earned runs on nine hits before being replaced after five innings.
“It was tough but we had to battle through and get going although we fell short,” said sophomore Brandon Taylor.
There were a few bright spots for the Mustangs, beginning in the sixth when sophomore Outfielder Conner Torres hitting an RBI single to right field that scored Clark.
In the eighth inning, Delta tacked on two more runs with two RBI doubles from sophomore Wyatt Castro and Torres, but that would be all the team could muster up against Santa Rosa.
On March 18, The Mustangs returned to the winners circle as the team trampled American River College with a landslide vicyory 12-1.
“We went into the game fresh, put the loss against Santa Rosa behind us and focused on doing what we needed to do,” said sophomore Nick Camarena.
Delta College is tied with Sierra College for second in the conference with a record of (3-1) and an overall record of (16-3).
The Mustangs have a solid team with coachable players who can make quick adjustments when needed, but the team acknowledges that there is room for improvement.
The next game for the Mustangs will be on March 22 at 1 p.m. as the team will face-off with American River College for the second time in one week, on campus at the Nick Cecchetti Field.
