It’s not often that the Renegades lineup struggles, but in their 5-3 loss to Diablo Valley College on Wednesday, that was the case. “Today, we had opportunities to score early,” said Ohlone baseball Head Coach Jordon Twohig. “There’s some guys that are doing a good job and some guys that are struggling.” The Renegades run production has fallen a bit since their 14-run, 17-hit performance at Diablo Valley in the season opener. Ohlone has outscored opponents 27-5 in their three wins, while being outscored 16-9 in their two losses. “I think we’re giving ourselves a good chance to score runs,” Twohig added. “We’re just coming up a little short on timely hits.” “We just have to battle a little more,” said sophomore leadoff hitter Steven Ramos. “I think we’re doing just fine. We’ll pick it up.” The 5-3 loss on Wednesday comes a day after Ohlone won 5-3 against Los Medanos. It’s the first pair of back-to-back games the Renegades have played since the 2009 playoffs. The Renegades had a good chance early on in the bottom of the first off a single by Ramos. Ramos would advance to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Cody Foster, and would steal third with one out. However, Viking freshman right-hander Steven Swift ended Ohlone’s chance to start with an early 1-0 lead, striking out designated hitter Jeff Johnson and Christian Weeber to end the inning. His counterpart, Ohlone right-hander Mark Mercer, pitched well in his home debut, pitching six innings, allowing two runs on six hits including four strikeouts in a no-decision. The Renegade infield helped Mercer out, turning three double plays on the day. The Vikings took the opening lead in the top of the third off Justin Manci’s two-RBI double with one out. The Renegades would get a chance to take a 3-2 lead with Kyle Holmstrom reaching third, however catcher Michael DiRocca struck out swinging to end the inning. Ohlone would attempt another comeback, clawing the deficit to 5-3 as Michael Ussery scored off Foster’s sacrifice with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but the Renegades were held hitless in the last two innings. Ohlone (3-2) will look to come back from the loss in Saturday’s doubleheader against Big 8 opponent Sacramento City College.
By Jeff Weisinger
Editor-in-chief
Popularity: unranked [?]
