By Carlos Alvarez
The East Los Angeles College baseball team continued their winning ways on the road last Thursday, beating LA Pierce College 15-8.
Led by the Huskies sudden hitting attack, ELAC was able to overcome an early two-run deficit to win their third straight game. The Brahmas took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Huskies scoring two runs in the first inning off starting pitcher Elias Novelo.
Novelo (2-0) got the victory after pitching five quality innings, allowing two runs (one earned) off of six hits.“Novelo was okay. He battled early in the game and he got out of some tough situations,” Head Coach James Hines said.
After going scoreless early in the game the Huskies took a three run lead in the third. ELAC scored five runs off Pierce starting pitcher Derek Sesma in the third inning giving them a 5-2 lead.
Sesma (2-2) took the loss after pitching three shaky innings, allowing nine runs (five earned) while only surrendering three hits. The Huskies continued to pour it on in the fourth inning adding eight runs.
Led by Kyle Peralta’s pair of extra base-hits that scored two, the Huskies collected a total of ten hits for the game. With the Huskies leading 14-2 after five innings, Hines removed Novelo to give his bullpen some extra work.
“It was our only game for the week before conference begins. We got guys in there that will be the main guys that will lead us all season,” Hines said.
The Braham’s were their own worst enemy, committing seven errors that resulted too six of the 15 runs scored by the Huskies. “It was a sloppy game for both teams, but Pierce was sloppier. We took advantage of that,” Hines said.
Pierce was able to make the game somewhat respectable when they managed to score six runs off two Husky relief pitchers. Pierce scored four runs against pitcher Sergio Luna, in their final at bat to make the final score 15-8.
Luna who was coming off a strong start against Santa Barbara City College had control problems in his one inning of work. Luna allowed four runs off of one hit, but he hit three batters while also throwing three wild pitches that resulted in two runs.
“Luna was extremely wild. With such a big lead in the game sometimes the adrenaline is not the same. It’s something that might get us in trouble in conference play,” Hines said.
With the win the Huskies (7-5) moved two games above .500 for the first time this season. ELAC kicked off South Coast Conference play against El Camino College Compton Center, who has an overall record of 5-6, but is 4-1 at home. The Huskies began a three game set on the road against the Tartars yesterday.
“We are confident in our guys. The only question mark we have is what type of energy we will have coming off the bus. We need to get to the yard and get things going. If we play with great energy will come out on top,” Hines said.