STORY AND PHOTO BY AIDEN EISEL, STAFF WRITER
The 21st-ranked baseball team at Cypress College concluded their season after falling short in the first round of playoffs against the #4-ranked Los Angeles Valley College on May 4.
Cypress traveled to LA Valley College with hopes to pull off an upset against a team that had entered the game winners of 22 straight games, but ultimately fell short in both games, losing 8-7 in game 1 and then 14-7 in game 2.
With this season in the rear-view, the team must shift their focus to next spring, as new freshman players come in and sophomore players leave to pursue four-year universities.
Cypress finished with a 23-16-1 record and went 9-12 in conference play, which was enough for 7th in the OEC conference. However, they did not improve their finish from last season as they got eliminated in the second round.
Reflecting on the season, Head Coach Anthony Hutting said, “The season was a success based on player growth, but ultimately fell short of what they wanted to do.”
He also noted that the weakness of the team was the lack of strikes thrown by the pitchers. There were too many walks and errors and the injuries in the bullpen were an obstacle they were not able to overcome.
In regards to next season, Hutting said “[I’m] looking forward to the opportunity for new guys and to guys coming back.” He also said that the team has many holes to fill for the upcoming spring and “they’re looking for pretty much every position.”
Hutting also mentioned how happy he was about the fight the team put up against LA Valley, but knows they didn’t execute when they needed to in the first game. They had a lead entering the 8th inning of that game, but a three-run-home-run sunk them as they dropped the second game the next day.
The Cypress College Baseball team will now look to try to improve on their finish this season. With many players coming and going, the team will have some fresh new faces as well as some with experience which can lead them to more success next season.
