Los Medanos College baseball defeated Solano College in a tight-knit 2-1 contest last month. Solano is currently tied for first in the conference with Marin at 13-3, which makes that game a solid win for the Mustangs. However, the team’s consistency has been a little shaky this season as a whole as those good wins are happening less than they would like.
In the win over Solano, LMC Catcher Ethan Utler was at bat on both runs scored in the first and eighth innings, which gave him the two RBIs to win against Solano. In addition, Utler witnessed a remarkable pitching performance displayed by Brian Womack from behind the plate.
Womack threw on the mound the entire game for the Mustangs, while the Solano Falcons’ bats failed to adapt. He allowed only four hits out of Solano’s 30 at bats and ended the afternoon with six strikeouts as well.
“The only thing I walk away from today, is that there was one guy… you have to finish and that guy (Womack) showed up ready to finish. It was fun to watch,” said LMC Head Coach Anthony D’Albora.
“Those are the days you love the game. There are nine guys but very few days where one guy takes control, but I thought today was about Brian Womack showing up ready to finish and taking everybody on a ride with him,” he added.
Solano Head Coach Scott Stover agreed that pitching was the focal point of the game for both teams. Solano Pitcher Nathan Jenest pitched most of the game for the Falcons.
“He pitched his tail off today, we’ll keep him out there and he’ll keep doing good things for us,” said Stover, “In the end its who makes the most mistakes, we made the biggest mistake in the eighth inning and that’s what cost us,” he added.
Solano got one unearned run off a wild pitch by Womack, which may have been the only thing wrong with his pitching that day. Nevertheless, he noticeably helped his team defeat the first place Falcons in the Bay Valley Conference.
In addition, smart baserunning and more hits all around helped offensively. Guys reached scoring position and hits knocked them in.
But, the team will win a few games and lose a few games as seen in the results the past couple of weeks. It’s clear the team can compete with the best and beat them, but it’s also clear that the competitiveness and execution doesn’t always show up to the field.
For example, last Tuesday’s game against a first year program in Folsom Lake. The boys came ready to play for both teams in the early innings offensively, unfortunately it also meant our defense couldn’t handle the Falcons’ offense in an 8-3 loss in a game that was called after five innings due to weather conditions.
The game started out competitive and windy. Folsom scored the first two runs in the first inning, while LMC came back with two in the second.
In the third, the Mustangs were able to get their third run and handle three of Folsom’s batters quickly on defense. But things began taking a turn for the worse, with the weather following suit.
The fourth inning allowed the game to be tied up followed by a run scored for Folsom. Finally, the last inning of the game was in the fifth, where LMC let the game slip away allowing five runs.
The umpires delayed the game after some rain started to wet the field. But the teams continued to play after the rain stopped in order to complete an official game, which is at least five full innings of play. LMC didn’t have an answer though and couldn’t score after the delay.
Rain then turned into hail and became more relentless so the umpires called the game.
LMC dug itself a hole and didn’t have enough time to rally back. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the inconsistency, or maybe the other team just played better on that given day.
The Mustangs went through four pitchers during the game and the Falcon bats seemed to have no problem adapting to each one.
“We had quality at bats in the first and fifth innings, and we also hit our spots,” said Folsom Head Coach Rich Gregory.
Inconsistency seems to be the story of the season for the Mustangs. One day, they beat a first place team with flawless execution and a different day they show lack of focus on performance production with silly mistakes.
“We weren’t ready to execute. Baseball is a simple game, but if you don’t execute it’s tough to win. Even when you do those things, nothing is guaranteed,” said LMC Head Coach Anthony D’Albora.
The Mustangs currently hold a 7-10 record with seven games left in the season. Their next home game is Tuesday, April 21 against College of Marin at 2:30 p.m.