By Carlos Alvarez and Liliana Marquez
The baseball team suffered their seventh defeat in non-conference play, 7-2, after facing the Glendale Community College Vaqueros last Thursday at Stengel Field Stadium.
This result also marked their second loss against the Vaqueros this season.
The Huskies have a 5-7 record this season, this coming after a 6-3 victory over the Moorpark College Raiders the day before, as both teams were trying to improve their record early in the season.
Sophomore Husky pitcher Leonard De La Rosa had an outstanding performance against Moorpark, pitching five innings while allowing four hits and one earned run.
“We played good teams in non-conference, but you know what we could have played bad teams and still end up with the same result,” head coach James Hines said of the Huskies’ preseason.
Hines also said the early-season struggles for the Huskies continue to come from the offensive side where they constantly missed scoring opportunities.
The Huskies collected a total of eight hits the entire game and also left a total of eight runners on base adding to their frustration. Sophomore second baseman Ruben Ramirez collected three hits but was left on base failing to score. East Los Angeles College had opportunities to answer back but was unable to.
On the other hand, throughout the season, pitching has given the Huskies a fighting chance. Sophomore Husky pitcher Juan Vera was able to pitch six strong innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs, keeping ELAC close to the Vaqueros. “He pitched good, as he always does,” Husky captain Manuel Estevez said.
Troubles began and the game got away from the Huskies in the seventh inning when Vera ran out of gas. Hines was forced to call on the bullpen to bring in a relief pitcher.
Freshman Steven Diosdado pitched one inning, allowing four hits along with four runs, two of them earned.
“He gave up two runs resulting in a four-run inning and we couldn’t seem to score,” Hines said. ELAC went down quiet during the final innings without putting up a fight.
“We have time to practice and fix some things. We are not very confident right now, but we will hopefully play hard against El Camino College,” Hines said.
ELAC’s next two games will be against the El Camino Warriors who currently hold a season record of 11-2. El Camino hosts the Huskies tomorrow at 2 p.m. ELAC hosts the Warriors on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Cal State Los Angeles.