Panther Baseball ready to pounce at the opportunity of playoff ball

On April 10, 2018, the Hartnell Baseball team took on Cabrillo College on the road and unfortunately lost 12-2. It was a tough day for the Panthers, who were looking to bounce back and land on all fours after a loss against Diablo Valley College the week before, but were unable to produce enough runs to be in a position for a victory. Hartnell held on with just 2 runs off of 8 hits, helping them lead in the top of the third inning. It was a day of struggles for the mound as Hartnell would tear through 6 pitchers and wouldn’t find a rhythm. When the dust finally settled, Hartnell allowed 15 hits for Cabrillo which they were able to convert into 12 runs. Timothy Burkhardt (#12) led the way for the Panthers with two hits, but Cabrillo’s defensive play mitigated much of their offensive power. Even with a tough loss against a good defense the Panthers were not discouraged knowing they’d have to keep pushing forward since they’d be facing Cabrillo once again in two days. On April 12, Hartnell returned home with great play and beat Cabrillo 6-5. (#10) Isaiah Azua got Hartnell going early, hitting an absolute rocket over the fence and into the out skirts of Salinas, putting the Panthers up by 2. Cabrillo would not be tamed and in their following time at bat got two runs of their own to tie it up. Heading into the bottom of the third Hartnell found themselves in a close situation being tied at 5 apiece, but a hit by (#21) Davin Kapuras gave (#2) Nick Gardoni the time he needed to run it home. This proved to be the deciding moment as Hartnell would move up in score to 6-5 and claim victory, moving into an overall record of (10-22) and (6-5) in conference. We wish our Panthers the best as they look to keep improving in all aspects of the game.