Freshman Bryson McArn (Plesant Grove HS) had a very hot day at the plate leading the Hawks offense going 4x4 with 3 RBI's on the day. This game had everything you would like to see offensively from the Hawks unfortunately pitching and the defense were not on the same page. The Hawks committed a season high six errors in the field on the day. The pitching staff led by starter Freshman Anthony Galindo (Dixon HS) did not fair well either. Giving up 16 hits on the day, the Hawks found themselves with a very early lead thru the three innings of play Thursday. That all came to a hault when the visiting Lassen Cougars put up 4 runs in the 4th and tacked on another 5 in the top of the 5th.
A late spark in the bottom of the 6th inning had the Hawks only trailing 11 to 9. Then going into the top of the 8th inning and that is when the Cougars put a big insurance capper on the Hawks with a big two run home-run in the inning. The next two innings (8th/9th) saw the Hawks give up a total of six unanswered runs to put the game way out of reach.
"We just did not value the baseball like we are supposed too. Too many mistakes were made in non hitters counts, and the addition to the overall miscues on defense really put our club in a very tough spot. We have to clean it up. We have a talented group, they just need to learn to breathe, make the routine, routine on defense and cut down on the strike outs from the offensive side as well." (Head Coach Donnie Mico)
The Hawks travel to Merced JC Friday and Saturday for a two game away series set. Friday's contest will be at 5:00 pm and Saturday's game is set for 12:00 pm.