Falcons sweep Mustangs
April 26, 2018
In an ongoing series of the only two actively playing teams in the same conference, the Los Medanos College softball team struck out on luck Tuesday afternoon.
LMC suffered consecutive losses against Solano College in the last double header of the season.
The Mustangs weren’t able to get much action on the scoreboard as the Falcons pitching held LMC to just one run in both games. But perhaps LMC’s most notable action came off the field.
What transpired was a verbal confrontation from just beyond the field toward a specific player, which culminated in that player eventually walking off the field and subsequently causing the coaching staff to call off the game.
Although head coach Tim Rognlien declined to comment moments after the incident, he later told Experience co-sports editor Jesus Cano that he decided to end the game because there was a physical altercation between people not associated with the softball team, despite one of his players walking off the field. Rognlien also added that he sent the player home over some issues that already had been boiling in the dugout.
The game was already out of reach for the Mustangs, as they were down 10-0 by the time the coaching staff decided to end the game.
After getting on the board early with a two run first inning, The Falcons made big plays in the third inning where Solano hammered in seven runs. The Mustangs were able to get four hits in the short game, but the number of hits matched the number of errors the team had on defense. Opposing pitcher Brianna Schlattman dominated the Mustangs, recording six strikeouts from the circle.
The season for LMC ended in a four game losing streak, certainly not the way the sophomores wanted their community college careers to end.
“It’s going to be loss when my sophomores leave, because they’ve been the core of our team,” said head coach Tim Rognlien. “They’re the ones who have been coming to practice everyday, those are the ones who been working their hardest to improve their skills, so we’re going to miss them and hopefully our freshmen have learned something from them.”
Shaylyne Siino found herself throwing the opening pitch against Solano College in the first of two set-scheduled games. But by the end of the top half of the first inning it was almost apparent that the odds were not in Los Medanos’ favor, as they saw themselves losing already 4-0.
“We held ‘em for a while, our backs started coming alive by the fourth – fifth inning and their team made the plays,” said Rognlien.
The bottom of the first inning saw Siino batting again followed by sophomores Skye Lee and Shayna Lee, but the Mustangs ultimately weren’t able to score anything back from their efforts.
LMC had to battle with a weakness in numbers. At the beginning of the season, the team had a sufficient roster, but over time people quit the team. In addition to that, the team sometimes saw itself with only one bench player, and sometimes none.
“We worked hard, I have a positive feelings about how the girls played to their abilities. I’m pleased with the performance they were able to put out.” Rognlien said.
Two of LMC’s top performers were both freshmen. Borlongan and Siino were both workhorses on the mound and at the plate. Siino was one of the league leaders in strikeouts with 20. At the plate, Borlongan came second in the Bay Valley Conference in batting average, as she batted .478.
