Noki Lam
Staff Writer
The Mustangs fell to Westlake,10-1, last Thursday, in the CIF playoffs after a dominant performance from the Warriors on both the defensive and offensive ends. The loss marks the end of the team’s season.
At the bottom of the first inning, the Warriors tallied three quick runs and were the first on the board. The Warriors piled on another run at the bottom of the second, taking a commanding 4-0 lead to open the game.
“There were many hardships to open the game,” sophomore right fielder Ace Tarango said. “It was hard to push through and keep our energy up.”
The Mustangs struggled heavily with the pitching of Westlake’s senior pitcher Dylan Volantis, a USC commit. Costa collected two hits from Tarango, junior second baseman Harrison Belden, and senior shortstop Maximo Martinez.
“It was really satisfying to get that hit,” Tarango said. “It felt like a breakthrough for me through all of the struggle we had in that game.”
After finding themselves down 10-0, Martinez came through with a solo home run in the top of the seventh to put the Mustangs on the board. The solo home run would be the only run scored by the Mustangs in the game.
“We had good chemistry and good talent. We could have made this game competitive.” Tarango said. “We needed to play more as a unit on both defense and offense to play at the best of our abilities.”
Westlake would also not score for the rest of the game, granting the Warriors the 10-1 victory. According to Tarango, the team’s returning players look to build upon the lessons they learned playing against competition as tough as Westlake.
“We have what it takes to make a strong push next season,” Tarango said. “We just need to change our mindset from being content with how we are doing to having that hunger to compete with the best of the best.”
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