FCC wins pitching duel vs Cabrillo College

Fresno City College baseball is on a hot streak of 10 consecutive wins. On Feb. 25, they were looking to continue that streak against Cabrillo College at home.

The two teams had faced each other in the diamond the day before with the Rams taking the victory in a close game that ended 7 to 6 in favor of the Rams.

The game quickly became a pitching duel with two stellar performances from FCC’s sophomore Donovan Bertoncini and Cabrillo College’s Brett de Geus.

Throughout the first seven and a half innings of baseball, both pitchers were nearly perfect and the team’s defenses were stellar at keeping the score at zero for both sides.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh inning that the Ram’s offense got things going with a strong batting performance.

With one out already on the board in the bottom of the seventh, freshman infielder Jacob Paradine reached first base on a walk.

Paradine was replaced at first base by freshman base runner Bobby Clark. With a player on base, the next batter up, freshman outfielder Kenny Stewart, had a chance to put the runner in scoring position. With a hit single to left field, Stewart did just that.

With two on base, sophomore infielder Levi Zosky hit a double to center field bringing Clark home, but Stewart was tagged out before he reached homebase.

With one run in and two outs on the board, utility player Christian Funk hit a single to center field that seem to be uncatchable, and brought in Zosky for another run.

The inning ended with the next at-bat when freshman outfielder Nick Sheehan hit a fly ball to left field that was caught, but damage was done by the two runs on the board by the Rams.

The next two innings went by much like the first seven, with stellar pitching and defensive plays by the Rams.

The game ended with FCC’s Bertoncini pitching the entire game and not allowing a single run.

“We played against one of the best pitchers in the state and our guy out-pitched him.” Coach Ron Scott said. “We are trying to get better. We’re playing well, but it’s a new challenge every game.”

“They had a great pitcher on the mound, but we battled the entire game and we were able to get two scores on the board,” commented Ram’s sophomore catcher Kyle Atkins. “I believe we can win every game left in our schedule, and I hope we do.”