Sophomore pitcher holds the Eagles to one run in seven inning start in conference.
By Nicholas Orozco, Sports Editor
Going for seven innings, Monarch baseball player Danny Veloz allowed one run and struck out three, while being backed by his offense that would put up eight runs, beating the Eagles, 8-1 at home on Tuesday.
In a conference division matchup, Valley College (19-14, 10-4 WSC) hosted crosstown opponent Mission College (11-21, 6-8 WSC). The Monarch's offense was electric as they would achieve 14 hits over the eight innings, with six of the starters having a two-hit game.
“He’s [Veloz] got three starts left minimum, two of them being at home,” said Mallas. “We know we have a chance to win every single game that he’s on the mound.”
Sophomore Danny Veloz made his 12 start of the season against Mission, where he went for seven innings with one run coming across to score and strike out three.
“I moved the start to Tuesday to set the tone for the rest of the week,” said Veloz. “To go seven with all those zeros, it breaks their confidence for the rest of the week.”
Following Veloz, sophomore Josh Eigenbrodt closed out the final two frames of the game.
Sophomore Tyler Olivas struck first for the Monarchs as he ripped a single into left field that scored freshman Luis Torres in the third.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Elvis Park hit a double into left field that scored freshman Max Aude.
The offense did not quit in the fifth, as sophomore Bobby Velasco and freshman Sean David would get back-to-back hits. Velasco brought Olivas and David, who brought in Velasco.
Velasco would strike again as he hit a sac-fly into right-center that scored freshman Royce Clayton Jr. with ease from third after hitting a triple in the seventh.
Capping off the offense in the eighth inning, Clayton Jr. would hit his second triple of the day that cleared the bases. He would bring in freshman Tino Valdez, Torres and sophomore Will White, bringing the final score to 8-1.
“We hit the ball hard all day, all throughout the lineup,” head coach Dave Mallas said following the successful offensive day for the Monarchs.
Valley and Mission College will finish out the series on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.