Baseball struggles at the plate, loses 3-1 to Redondo

Ava Nicols

Online Editor

Costa baseball fell to Redondo Union, 3-1, on Tuesday in an away game. The Mustangs played the first round of a two-game Bay League set against the Seahawks.

Redondo started the game off with a homerun in the bottom of the first inning, setting the score at 3-0. Costa entered the top of the second inning with junior second baseman Max Martinez hitting a double followed by senior third baseman Max Anderson hitting an RBI, setting the score at 3-1. However, the Mustangs soon struck out, ending the top of the second inning.

“You never want to make an out on the bases by being overly aggressive, but at the same time you want to force the other team into tough situations,” senior pitcher and catcher Max Jonas said. “It can be high risk and high reward, but it’s always a tough decision to make in close games.”

Anderson and first baseman Ben Gnieser made the first out at first base. Senior pitcher Alex Rohm struck out a Redondo batter to close the inning.

“Defense can always be improved and it was definitely a factor in the loss,” Jonas said. “Ultimately, we need to score runs, so our offense needs to produce. ”

Struggling in the final inning, Costa struck out three times in a row to finish the game.

“Their pitcher threw very well, and he did a good job keeping hitters unbalanced,” Jonas said. “He kept a good rhythm throughout the game, and we couldn’t capitalize on his mistakes. ”

As it was Senior Night for the Seahawks, the crowd at the game was extremely rowdy. Costa’s stands were supportive by cheering on the players. According to senior pitcher David Chase, the crowd didn’t affect the team.

“We didn’t notice [the crowd],” senior pitcher Chase said. “We were focused on the game.”

The teams faced off again yesterday at home for the second game of the set, although results of this game were not avail- able at the time of print. According to Jonas, the Mustangs need to improve their offensive game in order to get ahead, as the pitcher on Thursday was the Seahawks’ top pitcher, junior Cole Stokes.

“We weren’t mentally locked into the moment, and we strayed away from our approach at the plate,” Jonas said. “That’s definitely going to be a key point for our next game.”