Ricky Orton singled with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, which allowed teammate Eric Menees to score from second and lift Bakersfield College to a 7-6 win over Saddleback College on April 14.

The win marked the baseball team’s eighth straight win and 12th win in the last 13 games.

“We were inconsistent early in the season,” said Head Coach Tim Painton.

The Renegades started their first 20 games at an even .500 winning percentage.

According to Painton, the team would show signs of life in pitching, offense and defense during the early part of the season, but that the three elements surfaced in “parts.” It wasn’t until a month ago, according to Painton, that “things began to solidify defensively” and offense became more consistent.

Since the 20-game mark, the Renegades have won 14 games and have lost only four times. The team is currently 24-14 (.632) overall and in second place in the Western State South Conference with a 13-5 (.722) record.

Painton said that the turn-around is attributed to an all-around team effort and did not want to credit one particular player as the contributing factor to the team’s late success.

“It’s a different guy each game,” Painton said. “Our team has done a very good job.”

The Renegades have six conference games left before the postseason. The team will get a chance to “heal up and rest” this week, according to Painton, as they take two byes in conference play and prepare for top ranked L.A. Pierce College on Saturday night. L.A. Pierce College has a 24-6-2 (.750) overall record and is 11-2-1 (.786) in conference play as of April 17. “We’ll do the best we can with it,” Painton said.