The Skyline baseball team struggled against College of Marin with a 11-2 loss, ending their six game winning streak. Despite the score though, Skyline was actually able to come up with hits but just failed to capitalize on bringing runners on base, home.
Skyline starting pitcher Aiden McGrath gave up four runs in the first inning which led to the game slipping away from them in a blink of an eye.
Skyline head coach Tony Brunicardi said this about the disastrous first inning, “They took advantage of our mistakes, they had a runner on base and we had a wild pitch, which led to them hitting a double, which eventually led to them hitting a 3 run homer on us. We’ve got to be better there,” Brunicardi said.
All hope wasn’t lost yet, as Skyline first baseman Nick Tobin was able to hit an RBI single in the 3rd inning. Cutting Marin’s lead down to 6-1.
Skyline had a lot of opportunities to score in this game. The Trojans ended the game with one more hit than Marin with 11. However, the Trojans failed to capitalize when they had runners on base.
“The difference in this game was the big moments,” Brunicardi said. “They were able to come through with quality at bats and we were not. That’s the difference. Sometimes that’s baseball,”
Skyline right handed relief pitcher Brandon Gatson, who came in and pitched for two innings, was one of the only bright spots for Skyline as he only gave up two hits and struck out two batters.
“There’s always room for improvement anywhere you go. I think the pitching could’ve definitely been a lot better. I think today was just one of those unfortunate games where the ball was just not landing,” Gatson said.
All momentum for a comeback was lost after Marin’s center fielder Adrian Ruiz crushed a three-run home run to left field, sealing an 11-2 victory.
Skyline will look to bounce back against Marin when the teams meet again on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21.
“That’s the great thing about baseball. You get to play it everyday,” Brunicardi said. “Everyday is an opportunity, and everyday we gotta go out and prove ourselves and compete. Never take any day for granted out here.”
