The Golden Eagles baseball team closed out their 2016 campaign this past weekend, dropping three of four games to the University of Antelope Valley. Despite the three losses, the team finishes the season with the most wins in program history and another stepping stone set in place moving forward.
In Friday's doubleheader the team settled for a split by dropping Game 1, 27-2, and winning Game 2, 12-8. In the first game, the Golden Eagles were held to just two runs on four hits. Michael Gonzalez picked up two of the four hits and one of the RBI's in the loss. Johnny Salinas tallied a hit and the other RBI, while Matt Zurita picked up the other hit for the Golden Eagles.
In Game 2, the Golden Eagles bats go going early, as the team scored nine of their 12 runs in the first three innings. The team finished with 17 total hits led by Daniel Wray who finished 4-for-5, followed by Johnny Salinas and Adrian Gardea who each finished with three RBI's, going 3-for-4 in the game. Catcher Justin Hinojosa collected two RBI's of his own and finished the game going 2-for-3, while Josh Jubile also finished the game 2-for-3, driving in one run.
The final two games of the series were played at home, on Sunday afternoon. Prior to the games the team recognized seven current roster players who played their final games as members of the Golden Eagles baseball team (David Allen, Adrian Gardea, Michael Gonzalez, Dakota Heredia, Justin Hotchner, Ben Miller, and Cody Molla).
The Pioneers spoiled the festivities by sweeping the Golden Eagles, by finals of 9-6 and 13-2. Thomas Martinez (2), Gardea (2), Zurita (3), Gonzalez (2), and Wray (2) accounted for 11 of the Golden Eagles 13 hits, with Gonzalez and Wray tallying three RBI's each for La Sierra.
In Game 2, only two Golden Eagles (Dylan Lindsey and Zurita) finished with multiple hits, as the team scored two runs on eight hits. The Pioneers struck early, as they put up nine runs in the first two innings, with the help of a 6-run second inning.
Despite the losses, the Golden Eagles finish the season with the most wins on the programs history. The team posts an overall record of 17-26-1, including a 9-9 record in Cal Pac play. As they have done over the last few years, the team will look to continue to build on their successes over this past season.
