Tehachapi baseball ready for SSL showdown against Taft
Tehachapi baseball ready for SSL showdown against Taft
By: Tom Shea
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 561 times
0 responses 0 comments After a break from South Sequoia League action this past week, the Warrior baseball team will continue their run toward the championship with three games against the Taft Wildcats this Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Tehachapi (6-6; 3-1 SSL) is currently in second place in league behind Taft (4-4; 1-0 SSL). The Warriors hope to take their place among the top of the league standings with a strong showing this week.
“Our pitching has been very strong this year, but with three games and two away games back-to-back, our rotation will need to answer the call,” said head coach Dennis Costa. “We know Taft has one good, solid pitcher and we’re expecting to see him Thursday or Friday.”
CIF central section rules mandate that a team cannot play a pitcher more than 10 innings in a week (Monday through Sunday), which bodes well for Tehachapi.
The Warriors have a strong rotation that features JJ Holguin, who is currently 3-2 on the year with an earned-run average of only 1.56 and 32 strikeouts to his credit. Tehachapi has also received strong outings from Nathan McKinnon, who has an earned-run average of 1.95 and 12 Ks on the year.
“If we can get our offense going we should be set,” added Costa. “Wasco pitched well against us in the last couple of games that we played them, but we need to be smart at the plate against Taft.”
The Warriors have benefited so far this season from strong hitting from both Jacob Rombouts and Nathan McKinnon, who are both batting .405 on the year. Rombouts also has five doubles, two triples, 13 RBIs and a home run through 11 games while McKinnon has four runs batted in. Senior EJ Muro leads the team with two home runs and is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 13. Ryan Stack is batting .400 with eight RBIs while Matt Fort has turned in a .385 plate performance, with both athletes also connecting for a home run apiece.
Tehachapi will open with a home game against Taft on Tuesday and will hit the road for two away games against the Wildcats on Thursday and Friday. All three games will have 4 p.m. start times.
“We got a break from baseball but we’re ready to get back into it,” Costa said. “These are three big games and we’ll be ready to go.”
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
