Micah Davis
Brahmas baseball lives to fight another day after a pummeling of the Eagles of L.A. Mission College, 18-9, Thursday.”This is a big game for us,” explained first baseman Eric Bloom during pre-game warm-ups. “If we win, we have a shot at the playoffs.”Pierce College needed a win and a loss by L.A. Valley College to secure an at-large bid in the Western State Conference postseason.Although they held up their end, Valley came away with a victory, leaving Pierce’s playoff hopes in limbo.”We’re playing really good baseball, and the chemistry is starting to come around,” said head coach Joe Arnold. “I’m proud of them. They controlled what they had to control.”Winners of six consecutive games and 11 of 13 overall, the Brahmas have propelled themselves into playoff contention with a blistering April.Holding opposing teams to a combined 67 runs and mashing 119 of their own was the key ingredient to this well-timed win streak. Prior to the offensive turnaround, Pierce had lost eight games in a row, managing just 47 runs over that span.”The good thing about hitting rock bottom is that as long as you don’t quit, you can come out better and stronger, and that is exactly what we did,” Arnold said.Both teams came out strong. The Eagles struck first, scoring one run with three straight singles off Pierce starting pitcher Cameron Collard.A quick mound visit later and he settled down, retiring the next three batters while allowing just one run over his next four innings pitched.”It started out kind of rough, but I got into a little bit of a groove,” Collard said. “I felt good – gave my team a chance to win.”After a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, the Brahmas’ bats came to life, knocking Eagles-starter Miguel Castillon around for six runs in the second.Third baseman Cole McCune hit his first of two homeruns, a three-run bomb over the center field wall.”I was just looking for something in the zone something to put in play, I was trying to not strike out,” McCune said.Aided by an abundance of walks and wild pitches, courtesy of Mission pitchers, Pierce added two runs in the second, third and fourth innings.Additionally, the base-running woes that plagued the Brahmas earlier in the season were nowhere to be seen. They stole bases, ran out groundballs, advanced from first base to third on singles and continued to pressure the Eagles’ defense.”We battled back, but we give those guys credit they hit the ball,” said Mission head coach Joe Cascione. “This is a big series for them, and they happened to take advantage of it.”At the start of the sixth inning, Pierce led, 12-2, but the Eagles refused to go quietly. Assisted by shoddy infield defense, Mission was able to score seven runs in the sixth, though most were unearned.Collard was relieved midway through the sixth inning by Mike Nesbit who, along with Carter Whitman, quashed the Eagles rally and secured a Brahmas victory.”Even if we didn’t have a chance, we’re going to go out with the same intensity,” said catcher Steve McGrath. “Just ’cause it’s the last game. Just cause that’s how you play ball – that’s how you have to go about the game.”The Brahmas still have a shot, as they’re currently fourth in their division.They remain hopeful their strong finish to the season and steadily increasing RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is enough to secure one of 16 playoff spots.
However, they won’t if the postseason is in their future until Sunday.”The league meeting is Sunday at 1 p.m.,” explained Arnold. “Were going to meet here Monday at 1:30. Hopefully we’re practicing; if not were turning in uniforms.”Good season though, I’m proud of how these guys have turned around.”The playoffs are scheduled to begin May 10 and continue until the state championship May 24 in Fresno.