The sunny weather wasn’t the only thing keeping blood warm at the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball field on April 17. The SRJC Bear Cubs kept the intensity high as they faced the Modesto City College Pirates at 2:30 p.m. The Bear Cubs won their sixth straight shutout, winning 6-0.
Second baseman Chase Stafford scored the first hit of the game when he hit one out to centerfield at the bottom of the first inning. First baseman Weston Bryan then hit a sac fly out to left field to advance Stafford to second base. However, the inning ended before Stafford reached home plate.
Intensity rose in the top of the second inning when starting pitcher Brandon Hagerla hit the Pirates’ catcher while up at bat. The Pirates were up on their feet in rage, but calmed down in time for the next half of the inning. However, the peaceful state didn’t last long. When SRJC outfielder Parker Shaw hit a pop-up, his run toward first base was cut short when he clashed with Modesto’s first baseman.
The Pirates’ head coach then bolted out onto the field, approaching the umpires with a rant about how the Bear Cubs were causing hazards for his “players’ safety.” His anger moved him to pick up and leave shortly after.
The game then continued with only one more resentful instance, when umpires called LoCoco out in the third inning, giving the SRJC supporters their own chance to grow angry. However, a cloud of shade came over the crowd soon after, bringing the ambiance back down to a cooler level.
After shortstop Phil Ramos was walked later in the inning, Stafford hit a single, advancing Ramos to third base.
Bryan came up to bat next and hit a single as well, sending Ramos home and putting SRJC on the board with a 1-0 score.
Left fielder Dane Erbst then brought Stafford in with a sac fly, bringing the score up to 2-0.
After Bryan got the chance to steal third base, infielder Anthony Bender got a single, bringing Bryan home to make the score 3-0 Bear Cubs.
The fourth inning further reflected the Bear Cubs’ strengths. After catcher Spencer Neve and LoCoco took a walk, Ramos made a sac to advance them to the next base. Stafford then came up to base to hit a double, bringing in Neve to give the Bear Cubs a 4-0 advantage.
The fifth inning was another big one for the Bear Cubs. Leading off, Erbst hit the ball down the left field line for a double. Bender then made a sac bunt to bring Erbst to third.
Infielder Taylor Martin then came up to bat, hit the ball up center field and brought Erbst in to make the score 5-0 Bear Cubs.
After two scoreless innings, the Bear Cubs scored their sixth and final run in the eighth inning.
Though the Bear Cubs are staying strong in performance, they are taking the season one game at a time. “First goal is to win the first game, then to win the series and then go for the sweep,” Erbst said. “We just have to continue to play our game each and every day and stay hungry.“
The Bear Cubs’ next home game is against Sierra College on April 24.