An error at first base gives an Imperial Valley runner enough edge to take the bag. SWC’s Jaguars won the game against Imperial Valley College, 11-9.
A dry, dusty 95 degrees greeted the Southwestern College Jaguars as they hopped off the bus on Saturday, February 27 at Imperial Valley College. Sharp rays of sun cut across the unshaded baseball field and pale-green grass bleached in the light, an ideal setting for the Jags first conference game of the season.
The Jags brought the heat, playing an immaculate first seven innings, scoring seven runs in the second inning and two more in the fourth. Imperial Valley had all eggs on the board until the seventh, when they scored their first two runs. Choppier in the final innings, Imperial Valley bombarded the Jags with seven more runs, but SWC was still able to pull through an 11-9 victory.
“The first seven innings was beautiful baseball,” said head coach Jay Martel. “We played good defense, swung at bat and we pitched well. You do that, you win a lot of baseball games.”
Getting to Imperial Valley, which is two hours away from SWC, requires an early start. Leaving Chula Vista at 7:30, the team had already had a full day when the game kicked off at noon. Martel said he and the club did a stand up job, considering the circumstances.
“I was extremely proud of the way we came out in the first seven innings,” he said. “Especially on a warm Saturday afternoon when the field plays pretty rough.”
But innings eight and nine demonstrated the inexperience that has hamstrung SWC this season with only a handful of sophomores on the roster. Martel said the fresh faces have not quite warmed up to the challenge of playing college ball.
“When you take your starters out of the game and put in the guys who want to play, they have to go and do the job and they didn’t do it,” he said. “I’ve got to find some guys who can play the back end of a baseball game.”
Littered with errors, the closing innings saw dropped balls and shaky pitching.
Despite the gaffes, a few stars managed to shine. Brandon Teichman pitched the first seven innings, giving up just two runs.
“Teichman threw outstanding,” said Martel. “He threw strikes. After the first two innings, he only threw maybe 15-20 pitches. He pounded the zone.”
Kristopher Aguilar, just out of rehab for a knee injury, made his season debut in time to help kick off league play. In five at bats, he managed three hits, one run and two more batted in. One of those runs was a clutch play in the ninth that kept the W on the Jaguar side of the scoreboard. Nerves, he said, were not an issue.
“It felt really good finally getting out there,” said Aguilar. “All this hard work finally paid off. I had the jitters a little bit but it all went away when I was up at bat.”
Aguilar said he does not think the injury will slow him down this season and is looking forward to helping the team in any way he can.
The lone sophomore in the infield on Saturday was Cody Simmons, who has played third baseman and shortstop this season. Simmons said he is still getting used to his new teammates.
“It was really different (playing as the only sophomore) because last year I was the only freshman,” he said. “It was just a different vibe.”
He was the backbone of the defense on Saturday, setting the tone for the infield with quick, focused action. He said he does not think the teams unfortunate 3-7 preseason record will not trip them up in conference.
“I would have liked to get a couple more wins,” he said, “but I think we’re going to get it together in conference and compete to win it.”
The Jags play at Grossmont on Tuesday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
