A combination of solid defense, steady hitting and a great pitching performance earned the Brahmas the top spot as Western State Conference South baseball champions Thursday at Pierce College.
Tall right-hander Dan Berlind threw a complete game, striking out 12 and issuing no walks to lead the Brahmas to a 12-3 victory over College of the Canyons.
“Outstanding,” said pitching coach John Bushart of Berlind’s performance.
“This is his best game yet. He had command of all three pitches and especially on this stage. He was incredible.”
The Pierce bats were just as potent as their pitching, recording 18 hits and keeping constant pressure on the COC defense.
The game started off with a scary moment in the top of the first inning when third baseman Travis Weed took a hard one-hopper to the side of the face, knocking him to the dirt and sending the ball to shortstop David Fonseca, who threw the runner out by a step.
Weed returned to his feet after a couple of minutes, visibly shaken and unable to stay in the game. However, he was able to stay on the bench to support the team.
“When I saw him go down it was crazy, but I knew I had to get ready and try to contribute however I could,” said Mark Sunga about replacing Weed at third base.
Sunga delivered with four base hits, three RBIs and a great catch in foul territory on defense.
The offense was sparked when Dan Heller sent a pitch from COC starter Nick Pappas off the wall in center field for a double, scoring Pierce’s first run of the game.
Calvin Culver followed the next inning with a two-run homer to the opposite field, advancing their lead to 3-0.
Defensively, Andrew Tapia made a terrific sliding catch in center field, scored two runs and had two base hits for Pierce.
Improving his record to 9-2, Berlind used his command of a fastball, change-up and slider to keep the Cougars at bay.
“My fastball was live. I was hitting spots and my slider was on. It was fun,” said Berlind regarding his complete-game performance.
The baseball team carries their momentum into the playoffs as focus shifts to this weekend’s series.
“Now, we can turn this over into the playoffs and continue our success,” said head coach Bob Lofrano about winning the final home game of his career.
He will be moving on to his new position of Athletic Director following this season.
The three-week playoffs consist of a best-of-three game series for the regional and super-regional and finishes with a three-game championship series in Fresno, May 26-28.
The win gives Pierce an opportunity to host their regional of the playoffs, which is vital because the Brahmas have won eight of their last nine home games.
“Berlind game one, [Ryan] Platt game two,” said Lofrano about the pitching rotation for the weekend.
Platt holds an undefeated record of 7-0 leading the team with a 1.53 ERA and Berlind has a team-high nine wins and 89 strikeouts.
Pierce last won the league title in 2003 and will resume play in search of a State Championship Friday with the playoff time and location to be determined.