Injuries plague Rams in 2011

By Ryan Kuhn
The Guardsman

Sitting on the bottom of the Coast Conference standings, City College baseball is looking to finish the last month of their season on a high note.

From the very beginning, injuries and a handful of errors has given the Rams a record of 5-20.

Having coached at City College for 12 seasons, head coach John Vanoncini said his team just has to focus on the positives.

“We don’t have a lot of depth and when we have injuries it definitely hurts us,” Vanoncini said. “We just have to keep battling and keep a positive spin on everything no matter what.”
With City College starting the season with six players already injured, their leading hitter Cody Silveria broke his wrist, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.

Before the injury, he was batting .324 with eight RBIs.

Freshman pitcher Shusaku Tomaru from Chuo High School in Japan, who started the season for City College with an earned run average under one, struck out 12 in seven relieve appearances before deciding to leave the team.

“He was our best pitcher at the time,” Vanoncini said. “He couldn’t handle the American baseball. He just said he wasn’t having fun and it wasn’t the same as in Japan.”

Despite the injuries and their best pitcher leaving the team, two bright spots have been the offensive play of outfielder Dan Brown and the pitching of Aaron Hartman.

Brown is hitting .291 and has a team high of 11 RBIs while Hartman has won both conference games for the Rams and leads the team in strikeouts with 24.

Even with the problems out of players’ control, like injuries and departures, Vanoncini said his team needs to minimize mistakes on the field.

With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, City College gave up seven runs, losing to their division rival Skyline College, 9-2 on April 2.

“[Hartman] had a great game Saturday but we blew it on ourselves in the eighth inning,” Vanoncini said.

With the final games coming up in their last season at City College, sophomores like  catcher Mark Johnson know they need to work hard during practice to get some more wins.

“It starts with practice.,” Johnson said. “We try to come out here and be intense every day. Baseball is one of those sports where you have to have a short memory. You can’t let the past affect you.”

The Rams faced Cabrillo College on the road on April 5. They will play West Valley College in Saratoga on April 7. First pitch is at 2 p.m.

Email:
rkuhn@theguardsman.com