Brahmas swing and miss against Ventura

BY ALEC BENNET REPORTER

Another tough loss for Pierce College Baseball, the team was defeated 14-4 on Tuesday at Joe Kelly Field against Ventura County. While the team has had a difficult season so far, both the players and coaches remain optimistic for improvement ahead.

Despite not getting the results he was looking for, head coach Bill Picketts was still proud of the hardwork and dedication his team put out there on the field.

“Obviously the outcome wasn’t what we wanted,” said Picketts. “But I saw some good things, I got some guys off the bench and saw some new at bats.”

Picketts said that the main problem that allowed Ventura to win was that we were walking too many players, and made occasional poor defensive decisions.

“Probably the biggest issue that we had was that we walked too many guys,” said Picketts.

“We had some opportunities to get out of innings early, but we didn’t execute our defense.”

Picketts also said that his team simply wasn’t prepared for this game, and that hopefully with intensive practice and a refreshed mindset, they will see improvement in the next game against Ventura County.

“We just need to show up. That was the speech I just had with them,” Picketts said. “I didn’t think they were ready to play today, and that showed in the scoreboard.”

Starting pitcher Brent Chavez felt confident in his performance, and said that he was commanding some pitches well, but wants to improve.

“The fastball and changeup was good,” said Chavez. “But I was struggling with the command on the slider.”

Chavez also said he felt consistent with good pitch placement on the corners of the plate, but the umpire was missing some strike calls.

“I feel like I painted the corners sometimes, but the blue wouldn’t give me those,” Chavez said. “It’s alright, we just have to be better next time.”

Utility player Danny Gonzalez said he was hoping for a better performance from the Brahama’s, but he was still proud of the effort given.

“Overall I definitely feel we could have done a little better on our end,” said Gonzalez. “But I think our defense did pretty good. Our pitching was a lot better this week too.” Gonzalez said that the main improvement needed is more consistent hitting and better approach at the plate.

“Well, I think on our end we just had to do better overall,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no other way to say it, just better accountability at the plate.” Even with difficulty making contact at the plate on Tuesday, the Brahmas have been consistent throughout the entirety of the season. The team’s overall batting average is listed at .269, according to the Pierce College athletics website.

Gonzalez also gave a message to Pierce students to encourage them to not give up on their home team.

“Stay with the bulls, cause the bulls get hot,” Gonzalez said.

Despite a difficult loss last Tuesday, the Brahmas have seen improvement with both offense and defense throughout the season.

With only three home games left, the Brahmas still have room for change regarding the remainder of the spring 2023 season.

The Brahmas face Moorpark College on Saturday, April 22 at Joe Kelly Field.