By Lauren Smith
In the varsity baseball team’s first official game of the season on Monday, March 9, the Cougars shut out the Canyon Springs Pioneers 12-0.
In the first inning, Sean Hofmans, sophomore, took the mound to pitch a shutout. The lead off batter for the Cougars walked. Anthony Olheiser, junior, hit a single which brought in a base runner to score a run. After two more consecutive walks, Dante Glover, senior, stepped up to the plate to hit a triple to right field that brought in three runs to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead into the second inning.
“We were successful against these batters because we hit our locations when pitching,” Hofmans said.
In the top of the second, the Pioneer batters went down in consecutive order. The Cougars scored two more runs in the bottom of the second inning to advance their lead to 6-0.
The Pioneers attempted to make a comeback in the top of the fourth but were unsuccessful after a popout to left field, followed by two consecutive groundouts. The Cougars kept the momentum going by scoring another six runs in the fourth inning increasing their lead to 12-0.
The Pioneers made one last effort put some runs on the scoreboard but were dominated by the Cougar’s defense. Coronado was so far ahead, Canyon Springs was mercy ruled in the fifth inning. The Cougars defeated the Pioneers 12-0.
“By working together and staying as a team, we will accomplish our goals this season,” Nicco Festa, senior, said.
