Week Six

Now we start to change it up. This week I wrote a baseball story that didn't make the paper or online. so here's my copy.

By: Sergio Valencia

Sunny skies turned grey on the De Anza Dons Wednesday, Feb. 10 falling to Marin College 4-1 after three and a half hours of play.

Even with the clear skies and warm weather, neither team was able to establish themselves early on. Going two innings without a single score.

It wasn’t until the top of the third that Marin was able to earn the first score of the game after getting a few good hits. Holding De Anza without a score until the bottom of the fifth inning.  

After the slow start head coach Erick Raich pulled the team aside, letting them know he wasn’t pleased with the performance thus far, and that they needed to put pressure on the other team.

 “I was a little disappointed in our competiveness,” said Raich, “It didn’t seem like we had a lot of fight”

The players responded.

No player responded more than sophomore outfielder Cris Castillo. Starting the fifth inning with a single, then stealing his way to second, and finally finding his way all the way home after a throwing error by the catcher.

“You want to be the catalyst, no matter where you are in the lineup,” said Castillo, “If you get in late in the game you want to do something that affects the team in a positive way”

And Castillo did just that, sparking some excitement in his team by laying it all on the line, leading the team with two stolen bases and earning the teams only run of the night.

However, the Dons were unable to keep Castillo’s momentum going. Failing to earn a single run for the remainder of the game, while giving up three to the Mariners.

The lose puts the team at a 3-2 record to start the season, leaving some room for improvement.

Every game is a learning experience, a couple mistakes were made here and there, but nothing that can’t be fixed, said sophomore infielder Alex Roque.

Aside from some small mental mistakes, De Anza’s real problem was a lack of competitiveness, said Raich.

“I think we’ve got half the guys that really care and want to compete, and I think we have another half that are kind of just happy to say they’re playing college baseball,” said Raich.

Look for the Dons to have adjustments made in their lineups for future games as coach Raich searches to find his “magic ingredient” for more wins as the season progresses.