By Yasir Khaleq and Kyle Nguyen, Staff Writers
Just two days after beating Los Alamitos at home on a walk-off hit, a lack of focus combined with an inability to perform to their ability doomed Barons baseball.
Fountain Valley started out poorly, as they got only one runner on base and gave up two runs in the first two innings. Pitcher Travis Burleson (’17) didn’t perform to his usual standards, as he walked three runners (two of which would score for the Griffins). The Barons didn’t put any runs on the board until the top of the fourth, when Trevor Staffieri’s (’17) base hit to left field allowed Justin Mazzone (’17) and Michael Murphy (’16) to score.
This lack of execution would set the tone for the game.
“We didn’t execute, bottom line. We couldn’t get our bunts down, and we couldn’t keep their lead off hitters off the bases every inning. You’re asking for a lot of trouble when you can’t do either of the two. Travis (Burleson) couldn’t find a second pitch until the last inning and he basically became a one-pitch pitcher and they took some good swings against him,” said Head Varsity Coach Deric Yanasigawa.
Los Alamitos would respond by adding a run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score three to two in favor of Los Alamitos, which would prove to be the final scoreline. For the rest of the game, the Barons would perform solidly defensively, but were shut down offensively.
On a day where a win would’ve meant a three game win streak and a better position in Sunset League play, the Barons let themselves down. Players were not performing as well as they usually do and no one seemed particularly inspired.
“It’s disappointing to leave here needing to win… I hope that [the players] keep fighting and hope that the things at practice get magnified times 10 in the game” said Yanasigawa.
A loss like this can be disheartening to players and coaches alike, but Yanasigawa sees a life lesson in the poor performance.
“I’m hoping that these guys learn from [this game]. You can’t go through life looking for shortcuts and expecting a great outcome. It doesn’t work. Life has a way of sorting those things out. Life rewards the hard working people and punish the ones that try to take shortcuts and do the least amount” said Yanasigawa.
