First-place Chaffey pounds SBVC 16-2
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Chaffey College pitcher Andrew Schile is the first to admit he didn’t have his best stuff when he took the mound Thursday against San Bernardino Valley College. He also knows most of the time he probably won’t need it since his offense usually gives him room for error.
The Panthers (23-8, 14-2) pounded out 16 hits and cruised to a 16-2 win over the Wolverines (21-15, 11-5) in a battle between the top two teams in the Foothill Conference.
The series continues with a noon doubleheader Saturday at Cal Baptist University since SBVC does not have a home field.
“He (Schile) wasn’t his best but he is a sophomore, one of our team captains. He is always going to battle and give a great effort,” coach Jeff Harlow said.
Schile’s effort was more than good enough. He went five innings, allowing just four hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out two, walking three and hitting one. He exited after the top of the fifth with his team in control 9-2.
The right-hander out of Miller High School said he was slowed by a back injury that flared up when he arrived at practice Wednesday.
“When I got to practice I couldn’t even bend over. I don’t even know when it exactly happened,” he said. “With the way our guys hit I knew I didn’t have to have my best stuff because we have been scoring a lot of runs. I was just trying to get some ground balls.”
Chaffey, which started the day with a two-game lead over SBVC, jumped on Wolverines starter Sam Konnoff for two runs in the first, one on a run-scoring single by Ryan Delgado and the other driven home by his brother Anthony.
The Panthers tacked on five more when they batted around in the third. All the RBI came from different players, with the only extra-base hit in the frame a double by James Koerner.
That 7-0 lead was never threatened. Chaffey got hits from 10 different players and RBI from nine. Anthony Delgado and Jonathan Costantino had three each while Willie Holmes stroked a home run.
Even the reserves factored in as freshman Robert Escalera came off the bench and ripped a two-run double in a five-run eighth.
SBVC totaled just six hits on the day, three of those by No. 9 hitter Alec Ortez who had a double and a triple and scored one of the team’s two runs.
Veteran SBVC coach Bill Mierzwik will try and win the series with his two most consistent pitchers on the mound Saturday in right-handers Tommy Bills and Teddy Martinez.
“We could have come out and lost 3-2 and it’s still a loss,” he said. “They play well here so we’re taking a gamble. It might backfire but we thought it was our best shot.”
Mierzwik, in his 18th year directing the team, is hoping his team can at least hold its position because the conference traditionally gets two teams in the playoffs. It would be a fitting reward for a team he has enjoyed.
“I have had very few teams I enjoyed as much as this one,” he said. “They just come out and play. It isn’t easy playing every game on the road and not one of them has complained. I would love to get in the playoffs because these guys deserve it.”
The Panthers (23-8, 14-2) pounded out 16 hits and cruised to a 16-2 win over the Wolverines (21-15, 11-5) in a battle between the top two teams in the Foothill Conference.
The series continues with a noon doubleheader Saturday at Cal Baptist University since SBVC does not have a home field.
“He (Schile) wasn’t his best but he is a sophomore, one of our team captains. He is always going to battle and give a great effort,” coach Jeff Harlow said.
Schile’s effort was more than good enough. He went five innings, allowing just four hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out two, walking three and hitting one. He exited after the top of the fifth with his team in control 9-2.
The right-hander out of Miller High School said he was slowed by a back injury that flared up when he arrived at practice Wednesday.
“When I got to practice I couldn’t even bend over. I don’t even know when it exactly happened,” he said. “With the way our guys hit I knew I didn’t have to have my best stuff because we have been scoring a lot of runs. I was just trying to get some ground balls.”
Chaffey, which started the day with a two-game lead over SBVC, jumped on Wolverines starter Sam Konnoff for two runs in the first, one on a run-scoring single by Ryan Delgado and the other driven home by his brother Anthony.
The Panthers tacked on five more when they batted around in the third. All the RBI came from different players, with the only extra-base hit in the frame a double by James Koerner.
That 7-0 lead was never threatened. Chaffey got hits from 10 different players and RBI from nine. Anthony Delgado and Jonathan Costantino had three each while Willie Holmes stroked a home run.
Even the reserves factored in as freshman Robert Escalera came off the bench and ripped a two-run double in a five-run eighth.
SBVC totaled just six hits on the day, three of those by No. 9 hitter Alec Ortez who had a double and a triple and scored one of the team’s two runs.
Veteran SBVC coach Bill Mierzwik will try and win the series with his two most consistent pitchers on the mound Saturday in right-handers Tommy Bills and Teddy Martinez.
“We could have come out and lost 3-2 and it’s still a loss,” he said. “They play well here so we’re taking a gamble. It might backfire but we thought it was our best shot.”
Mierzwik, in his 18th year directing the team, is hoping his team can at least hold its position because the conference traditionally gets two teams in the playoffs. It would be a fitting reward for a team he has enjoyed.
“I have had very few teams I enjoyed as much as this one,” he said. “They just come out and play. It isn’t easy playing every game on the road and not one of them has complained. I would love to get in the playoffs because these guys deserve it.”
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