By Jesus Arvizu
After coming off two strong performances, the East Los Angeles Huskies lost to the Glendale College Vaqueros Saturday afternoon 4-3.
The Huskies opened the game versus Glendale up with the right hander, Chris Reyes
After a relatively quick first inning, in which the Huskies went down in order, the bats soon came to life in the top of the second.
Two, no-out walks resulted in the Huskies getting on the board after a line drive double to center field by Michael Maldonado.
Another hit by Daniel Catalan, put the Huskies up 3-0 going into the bottom of the second inning.
Though an error had allowed a man to reach base, is was not until the bottom of the fifth, in which Reyes walked his first batter of the game.
The walk would soon be erased after a ground ball to second, which resulted in a 4-6-3 double play.
After a quick fly out to right field to start the sixth inning, Andy Salzedo soon doubled, putting a man in scoring position for the Huskies for the first time since the second inning.
The momentum from the double was lost after both Maldonado and Arnold Banuelos struck out to end the inning.
The bottom of the sixth started with consecutive hits for the Vaqueros.
After a strikeout in which the hitter was called out looking, Reyes allowed another hit to center field.
The bases were now loaded, a hit could cut the Vaqueros deficit, a grand slam home run would put them on top and ground ball would pretty much devastate the Vaqueros and their hometown fans.
After a mound visit by coach head coach James Hines and his ball club, Reyes capitalized with a sinking curveball to force a groundball resulting in a 6-4-3 double play, ending the scoring threat.
After shutting out the Huskies in the top of the seventh, there was a sense of urgency in the Vaqueros’ dugout.
After allowing a hit to center field, Reyes was replaced by reliever Louis Macias.
Macias did strike out a hitter, but he also gave up a ground ball which cut the Huskies lead to 3-1.
After two consecutive walks, Hines came charging to the mound once more, replacing Macias for Julian Garcia.
With the Huskies leading 3-1, and runners on first and third, the Vaqueros’ leadoff hitter walked toward the plate with his walk-on music: “Magic” by B.o.B. feat. Rivers Cuomo.
In a clutch performance Vaqueros lead off hitter got a hold of the first pitch he saw and drove it to left center field for a three-run home run, giving the Vaqueros a 4-3 lead.
After the home run, Garcia allowed one more hit, however he also recorded the final out of the inning via strikeout.
After the inning, in which the Huskies saw their 3-0 lead turn into a 3-4 deficit thanks in large part to the bomb hit to left field, the Huskies came back to get one hit in the last two innings, ending the game with a fly out to center.
After being asked whether he was worried about his pitching depth, Hines answered, “No. At this point we still got to put a lot of different pitchers and see how there going to fit in. Things like this happen. That lets us know down the line the dependable guys and the guys that are not dependable.”
Hines also emphasized how disappointed he was after the game. “Not getting the win when you’re up 3-0 is disappointing. I was also disappointed in the guys who came down from the bullpen and didn’t throw strikes and forced the other team to beat us.”
Though the Huskies had a tough loss on Saturday, they did manage to go 2-0 prior to the loss to Glendale College.
The Huskies defeated Los Angeles Valley College this past Thursday 10-0 and College of the Canyons on Friday 4-3.
The Huskies current record is 3-3.