It hasn’t been the smoothest season for the College of the Redwoods’ baseball team, but things are headed in the right direction as the Corsairs won two out of their past three, including a 15-10 on CR’s Sophomore Day on Saturday.
“This group of 11 guys has really led the team exceptionally well,” Corsairs’ head coach John Downey said of his sophomore class. “It’s really great to see them continue to flourish as leaders. I’m going to be very sad to see all of them leave at the end of the year, but I’m very excited to see them continue to flourish at their next opportunity.”
Saturday’s game was played through heavy winds, something that Downey said he believed favored the hitters and the final score certainly reflected that, with a combined 25 runs in the game. CR split a pair of two game sets last week, going 1-1 against both Shasta and the College of the Siskiyous.
“These guys have been resilient all year,” Downey said of his team. “No matter what happens, just continuing to get to work and continuing to do the right things because winning will take care of itself, but we’re really starting to see that hard work pay off.”
The Corsairs made up two games against Siskiyous on Tuesday. The games were originally scheduled last month but were pushed back due to rainfall. CR dropped game one 12-7 as they couldn’t overcome a nine-run fifth inning from the Eagles. Freshman pitcher Tristen Valenzuela got the loss on the mound for the Corsairs, allowing six runs over three innings pitched.
Former McKinleyville Panther and current freshman infielder Tenoch Tapia led the way at the plate for the Corsairs, going 5-5 in the game, with the rest of the CR hitters combining for just five hits altogether.
CR got the better of Siskiyous in game two, with a 11-1 blowout win that was called after seven innings. Freshman Drew Franklin, the former Fortuna Husky, pitched a complete game, allowing just one run while striking out seven for the Corsairs. CR scored three runs in each of the first two innings to build up a lead. The game ended on a two-run walk-off double for Tapia, who went 2-4 with a walk in game two, to push the Corsair lead to 10 and enforce the run rule.
The Corsairs welcomed Shasta to town on Friday and it was the Knights who came out on top in an exciting 17-11 game that featured seven total home runs. Corsair sophomore Seth Grammer knocked out his seventh of the season, moving within one of matching Blake Browning’s single-season record of eight, which was set last year. Along with Grammer, sophomores Bode Joyner and Justin Powell and freshman Jack Irvine all went deep for CR. Former Fortuna Husky Daniel Osborne went deep for Shasta, Osborne finished the game going 3-6 with three runs batted in.
CR got the better of Shasta in game two, improving their record to 8-21 with the 15-10 win. Shasta took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first but it didn’t last, as the Corsairs put up four runs in the bottom of the inning with a grand slam by Joyner, the former St. Bernard’s Crusader.
“The way the offense has been the last month has been really fun to watch,” Downey said. “It’s really great to see them have fun offensively.”
The Corsairs scored eight runs in the sixth inning to push their lead to 13-3, CR added two more runs in the seventh inning but then Shasta scored seven straight runs. Even with the late Knights run, CR freshman Dylan Loan recorded the final three outs of the game and secured the victory.
“Honestly, I got a little nervous. We have tended, at times this season, to allow a big inning or two,” Downey said of Shasta’s late run. “Luckily, we were able to cap it off before they got too close. I was a little nervous, but ultimately I was very confident in the guys to get it done.”
Saturday was the final home game of the season for CR, as they’ll now close out the season with five road games over the next two weeks, facing Siskiyous for three more games and closing things out with two games against Butte.
Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.
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