The Bakersfield College baseball team continues to win and are now 10-2 on the season as they cruised through two straight western state conference wins, by beating (1-11-0) L.A. Valley College 9-3 Feb. 21, and avenged an earlier season loss to (4-7) College of the Canyons, beating the Cougars 13-0 on Feb. 22.
The game was originally scheduled to happen Feb. 19, but was postponed due to a rainout.
BC came out swinging in the first inning, building a 4-0 lead against L.A. Valley. Catcher Justin Martinez got the Renegades on the board with an RBI single to right field, scoring outfielder Kyle Nixon.
Outfielder Cole Hallum doubled to right center, allowing infielder Erik Williams to score, giving the Renegades a 2-0 lead.
BC capped off the first inning, when outfielder Justin Turner doubled to left center, scoring both Hallum and Martinez. Turner finished the game, going 2-for-4 at the plate, with one run scored and three RBIs.
“We feel good,” BC head coach Tim Painton said when asked how he felt about his team winning its first conference game.
BC right-hander starting pitcher Ryan Stapp pitched eight innings for the Renegades, allowing one earned-run on just two hits to pick up his fourth win of the season, improving 4-0.
“I felt like he did a really good job of going out and attacking the strike zone with his fastball and pitched really well,” Painton said about Stapp’s performance.
Painton thought the offense for the Renegade was the key to the team’s success in the win, as they were able to string together back to back hits throughout the game. Painton said that he believe it was big for Stapp, because it kept him in a rhythm and limited L.A. Valley’s chances of making a comeback.
“I just feel like I walked too many guys,” Stapp said when asked how he felt about his pitching performance. “Other than that I was in a zone most of the game and we were able to keep them off balance,” he also added.
L.A. Valley threatened to make a comeback in the second inning, as they were able to capitalize on an error by BC scoring two unearned-runs. Right fielder Andrew Saldana and first baseman Madison Dang for L.A. Valley were responsible for the two runs, as both players were a combined 0-for-5 in the game.
After the first inning, BC went into a four inning slump, but were able to put the game away in the six and seventh inning, by outscoring the Monarchs 5-1. L.A. Valley batted a woeful, 2-for-29, leaving four men on base.
“Yeah we didn’t score for three or four innings, but we were able to come back and add runs on, which is important so that you can distance yourself from the opponent,” Painton said.
BC has outscored its last three opponents 30-5 and are now 3-1 in conference after dropping its WSC game to College of the Canyons back on Feb. 16. BC won the second game against L.A. Valley 8-2 on Feb. 23.
The Renegades will play host to (8-5) Citrus College Feb.28.