This weekend the Pioneers faced off against the Fisher Falcons at Wild Things Park with a double header. A milestone seemed on the horizon, as head coach Loren Torres was searching for his 600th career win.
The boys had the extra push and motivation to get the job done for their coach and go home happy.
The first game featured a pitching battle between John Hawley of the Pioneers and Vance Serrano of the Falcons. The bats were alive early for the boys wearing green and gold, as in the very first inning, the Pioneers jumped to a 2-0 lead as Jared Campbell homered deep to left field while also driving in his teammate Isaac Santana.
The Falcons wasted no time in the second inning, as Gabriel Rivera hit a clutch two RBI single to tie up the score 2-2. Rivera would finish the game by leading his team in hits with two.
The Pioneers would continue their dominance over Falcons Pitcher Vance Serrano by scoring the next four runs in innings three and four. They took Serrano out of the game in the third inning, as he struggled mightily in this one.
Contributions from Carlos Martinez and the lead off man Omar Morilla were huge, as they both had two doubles that both brought in two runs to go up 6-2 by the end of the 4th inning. The Falcons could only score one run to answer.
Joathan Rivera would go one, two, and three in the 7th inning to get his second save of the year. This was his second appearance on the mound, and he gave up no runs. In this game, Coach Loren Torres officially received his 600th win, illustrating how he has been phenomenal for the baseball program.
In the second game of the back-to-back, it was the same story but with a little more offense from the Pioneers. In this fourth game of the series and second of the weekend, the Pioneers hoped to bring the brooms out for a sweep over the Falcons. Ethan Parker hoped to get his second win against Camden Redstone.
This game started off with both teams going back and forth, as the score was tied 1-1 in the second inning and 2-2 at the end of the third inning. The Pioneers would then go on a 7-2 scoring run.
In the bottom frame of the fourth inning, Crixtian Taveras hit a triple, driving in Luis Gonzalez and Eddie Javier. Taveras would finish the game going three-for-three at the plate with three RBI’s.
The fifth inning was the key factor in deciding the outcome of this game. The Pioneers put up four runs to put a win out of reach for the Falcons. A pair of doubles from Luis Gonzalez and Jean Santos brought in two runs. To finish the scoring in the fifth, red hot batter Taveras had an RBI single.
The Pioneers would win the game nine-to-four and advance to a 4-0 record getting the series sweep over the Falcons.
The Pioneers will now go on a roadtrip to Florida and Georgia. In Georgia, they will go against the number two nationally ranked Georgia Gwinnett. which will be a great test early on in the season for the Nationally ranked 20th Pioneers.
