The Brahmas opened conference play on Feb. 26, and with four matchups in the books, the team has struggled to find consistency, as they posted a 1-3 record, which puts them at 5-10 overall and last in the conference.
Their first conference matchup resulted in a 5-3 loss against LA Mission College on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
The Brahmas took an early lead, scoring two runs in the third inning. Mission came back to score one run in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Brahmas tied the game on a single from shortstop Christian Garcia.
The two teams went into the ninth inning tied at three. Mission scored two runs on a balk and a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Brahmas put the tying runs on second and third but failed to bring them in.
In their next game, the Brahmas traveled to LA Valley College on Thursday, Feb. 28.
The Brahmas came out and scored two runs in the first inning but then things went downhill for them.
Valley scored at least one run in the first six innings of the game, including five in the third inning.
The Brahmas ended up losing by a score of 13-6.
In their third conference matchup game, the team was on the road against West LA on Friday, Mar. 1.
The Brahmas, led by starting pitcher Johnathan Kennedy, picked up their first conference win of the season with a 10-3 win.
They once again took an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and another in the second inning.
That was all the team needed as Kennedy threw 7 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs while striking out nine.
Barrett Vonderau came in and closed out the game, pitching 1 ⅔ innings while allowing no runs and striking out three.
Brent Swearingen stood out for the Brahmas on offense. He went 3-4 with one RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base.
In their next conference game, the Brahmas faced Bakersfield and the pitching dominated for both teams.
Bakersfield won the game by a score of 1-0. The game had a total of seven hits and the one run was unearned.
Johnathan Lavallee started on the mound for the Brahmas. He pitched seven innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out 15 hitters.
After a rough start in their conference matchups, the Brahmas will look to get back to their winning ways with a non-conference doubleheader on the road against Palomar College on Thursday, Mar. 7.
Game one is scheduled for 11 a.m. and game two is scheduled for 2 p.m.
