2008 Woodie Awards
Pirates lose heartbreaker to Merced
Will face Fresno City College next in battle for second place in CVC
Andrew Shrader
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: Sports
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The Pirates entered Central Valley Conference play with an impressive 7-3 pre-season record. It was now do or die time with league games from here on out. MJC got off to a hot start in the CVC by winning their first four games over respected teams such as Fresno City and College of Sequoias.
MJC opened league with an 8-3 win at Taft Junior College on Thursday, Feb. 23.
On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Pirates welcomed their arch-rival Fresno City Junior College to their field for an early yet critical league game.
MJC dominated throughout the game with clutch hitting, stellar defense, and a magnificent performance on the mound by freshman left-hander Will Brown. With the win, the Pirates gained every bit of confidence they needed in order to continue to succeed in the Central Valley Conference. In their next two games, the Pirates manhandled their opponents.
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, MJC pounded out nine runs in their win over College of Sequoias 9-2. Two days later, on Thursday, March 2, the Pirates sent a strong message to the entire Central Valley Conference by completely demolishing Reedley Junior College 15-2.
The hitting machine of MJC had finally reached its full potential by scattering 16 hits and 15 runs. Their pitching and defense has been almost overshadowed by the Pirate's offense, but they are clicking on all aspects of their game thus far in the 2006 season.
In college baseball, it's difficult to savor success for too long because playing three games a week is how the schedule is set up. So MJC took their success and confidence 45 miles south to Merced to take on the Blue Devils (11-6, 4-0 CVC).
On Saturday, March 4, the Central Valley Conference two remaining undefeated teams battled each other for sole possession of first place. The Pirate's (11-3, 4-0 CVC) found themselves down 4-1 in second inning due to four consecutive bases-loaded walks to Merced batters. In the fifth inning, the Pirate's committed one of their five errors of the game, this one resulting in Merced's fifth run of the game.
After pulling pitcher Will Brown after the fourth inning, sophomore right hander James Shackelford took the mound for the Pirates for the rest of the game. MJC slowly but surely climbed back into game by scoring a run in the third and fourth inning, and finally took the lead, 6-5, in the seventh inning thanks to an RBI single by freshman third baseman Joey Norwood.