Contra Costa College came into the opening Bay Valley Conference game against Los Medanos College on a 0-13 record. What could go wrong for the Mustangs?

Almost everything, the Stangs lost 6-3.

The Comets went zero to 100 real quick in the first inning, putting three runs on the board.

Darlus Foster almost single handedly scored the opening run. Foster reached first on error and he wasn’t done there. He stole both second and third base before ultimately scoring an unearned run on a wild pitch.  

The highlight of the first inning was courtesy of Bryan Perez. Perez hit a triple, placing the ball in the sweet spot of the outfield and driving in Ben Jungbluth for a run. Perez would then put in a run of his own before the ending of the inning, putting his team up 3-0.

“I don’t think it changed anything (being 3-0 down in the first). I think we didn’t execute pitches and we didn’t make a defensive play in the first inning and that was huge,” said head coach Anthony D’Albora.

Contra Costa’s Andruw Shaw and Foster kept the pressure on LMC in the following inning. Foster showed reminiscent of his previous run, getting a base hit and stealing second with two outs to his team’s name. Shaw stepped up to bat, hitting a single and recording an RBI thanks to Foster.

The duo then gave the Mustangs a sense of deja vu combining again in the fourth inning.

Foster’s hit managed to get him to second base. The Contra Costa freshman then stole third base, his sixth of the season. Foster also leads the Bay Valley Conference in steals.

Los Medanos left it late, but still showed that it wasn’t out of the game yet.

The first run of the Stang’s started and ended with Zach Ellsworth. Ellsworth gained a single. He followed it up with using one of his strongest tools in his arsenal, his speed. Ellsworth flashed to second base, then perched up on third base.

“I feel like [the speed] puts pressure on the other team; especially the pitcher and the catcher. I think speed is a huge part of the game. It definitely changes the way people thinking about hitters and base runners. So i like to utilize my speed a lot. ” said Ellsworth. “I feel like i’m more dangerous on the bases. But i have had a hit every game so far so i just gotta keep it rolling”

CJ Sneath grounded out allowing Ellsworth to touch home plate and Milan Mijanovic to reach third.

With the bases loaded Contra Costa pitcher, Conner Rudy walked Neko Capsaliaris which put up the Stangs’ second run.

Being 6-2 down in the eighth inning, Conner Capps stepped up to bat. With two outs to his teams’ name and runners on both first and third, Capps hit a single driving in a run courtesy of Jared Hedrick.

“We just have to execute. I think the right guys were out there today,” said D’Albora. “We just have to execute. If we execute well i’m pretty confident we’re gonna win every day.”

Next up for the Stangs’ is a trip to Napa Valley College on March 14 while the Comets host Solano College on the same date