By J.C. Casarez
After starting the season of conference play with a loss, the baseball team defeated El Camino College Thursday afternoon with a final score of 4-1. The Huskies traveled to Warrior Field in Torrance for the second game of this three game series.
The Huskies scored early in the game, taking a two-run lead in the third inning. They scored off four hits in that inning. They added to that total in the fourth inning, manufacturing a run to put the Huskies up 3-0.
They had bases loaded in the eighth inning but were only able to score one run. The Huskies with a 4-0 lead were only six outs away from victory. El Camino College played tough throughout the game.
The pitching of sophomore Juan Vera was dominant limiting the Warriors scoring opportunities. Vera (2-3) went seven and two-thirds innings allowing three hits and one earned run to get the win. After getting the first out, he walked the next batter who advanced to second on a pick attempt throwing error.
The next batter singled to shallow center field putting runners at the corners. The Warriors loaded the bases when the next batter was hit by a pitch. ELAC Head Coach James Hines decided to make a pitching change.
Pitch reliever Leonard De La Rosa was called in to escape the bases loaded situation. He escaped the inning with little damage done, as he only surrendered one inherited runner to score, making the score 4-1. De La Rosa finished off the Warriors in the ninth inning, earning his second save of the season.
Warriors starting pitcher Alex Mistuloff (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Mistuloff Pitched seven innings allowing three runs (two earned) while striking out six batters. “Well, I think we got an outstanding outing from our pitcher (Vera). He did a good job for us and so did our guy who came in to close for us, which was De La Rosa,” Hines said.
The team was rebounding from the March 6 loss, in which they saw them give away the lead late in the game due to errors and some questionable calls. “Against good teams, you’re going to have to grind out wins like this. Just like on Tuesday, it was a tough game. I’m looking at Saturday’s game the same way,” Hines said .
Although the game didn’t go their way on Tuesday, Hines said that moving on and not dwelling on the loss is key to staying focused on the task at hand. “Most of the time, it’s taking the negative and putting it behind you. They are understanding that they’re going to make mistakes, but not compounding them and duplicating them in another game. It’s obviously a big thing,” Hines said.
The final game in the three game series took place on Saturday at Cal State L.A., as the Huskies managed to pull out the second win in a row against the Warriors, 5-3. The next game will be on Thursday, as the Huskies take on the host, Pasadena City College.