Give Gavilan credit for being a resilient team. After losing two
games earlier in the week that were eminently winnable, the Rams
faced a 5-1 early deficit Friday.
Give Gavilan credit for being a resilient team.
After losing two games earlier in the week that were eminently winnable, the Rams faced a 5-1 early deficit Friday.
This time, Gavilan got the clutch hits that had been missing and the Rams earned a come-from-behind 7-5 Coast Conference win over visiting Hartnell.
A two-out infield error led to four unearned runs in the third as Gavilan fell behind 5-1. The Rams fought back, trimming the deficit on back-to-back seventh-inning home runs by Seth Hudson and Carter Motley.
Julian Castaneda’s single scored Shane Christman with the game-tying run in the eighth, and Daniel Salinas followed with a two-run homer.
“He’s gotten some key hits for us,” Gavilan coach Neal Andrade said of Salinas. “We’ve lost some tough games. Today, it finally worked out for us.”
Brian Rossi was sharp for the Rams, pitching a seven-hitter and holding the Panthers scoreless after the third inning. Rossi struck out eight and walked two.
“He threw a lot of pitches but he got it done for us,” Andrade said. “It was our third game of the week and we were a little thin (in pitching). It’s beneficial to hit the conference break with a win. It will be nice to get some time off to rest up.”
One day earlier, Gavilan followed up its 10-inning loss to Ohlone by falling 11-10 to San Jose City College at PAL Stadium.
The Rams fell behind early before scoring five in the fifth inning for an 8-5 lead. San Jose City got four back in its half of the fifth. Motley’s two-run homer in the eighth put Gavilan back in front 10-9, but the Jaguars got the two back in the bottom of the eighth.
Josh Torrise had a home run, double and three RBIs for the Rams, who return to action at 2pm April 10 when they host Canada College.
