Though the Falcons kicked off the De Anza league season with a winning streak, the team has since fallen to seventh place in the division with a league record of 4-8 as of April 22.
Injuries to key players has played a huge factor in the team’s lack of hitting and tight defense. Senior right fielder Michael Schillage was out in the first few weeks of a season due to a groin injury, but has since made a return after medical clearance.
Senior pitcher Ryan Casini’s UCL tear only allows him to designated hit each game. Junior left-fielder Jonathan Yun and senior shortstop Cole Petters each had a minor injury that added to the team’s injury woes.
“It's tough for us right now because we aren't playing our best, and it's frustrating,” Petters said last week. “But if we win our next two games against Los Gatos, we will have a really good chance at CCS so it'll be a must-win week for us.”
The team lost two crucial games against Palo Alto on April 22 and April 20 with scores of 12-0 and 10-1 respectively, another blow to their chances of making CCS.
“Our defense was not the best and our offensive approach was ineffective. We let so many strike-three calls go by us and it was pathetic,” Petters said. “We weren't aggressive and everyone packed it in early.”
In the second game of the series against the Vikings, the Falcons continued to struggle on offense and only managed to get one hit, while the Vikings’ offense struck hard with 17 hits, managing to put up six runs in the first inning alone.
In the previous game against Palo Alto, the Falcons got only three hits, while the Vikings scored seven runs in the first three innings.
The team also lost to Los Altos 11-5 on April 4 and 14-2 on April 6.
Despite these losses, the team believes they still have a chance to make CCS with two games left in the regular season against Los Gatos, which will be followed by league playoffs.
In order to prepare themselves for the tough games ahead, the boys are trying to figure out the source of the problem that led to recent losses.
“We know what this team is capable of, and we want CCS championship rings at the end of the season,” sophomore second baseman Robert Scott said.
The boys’ celebrated their senior day on April 27 at home against the Wildcats. Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was not able to cover this game as well as the one played away against Los Gatos on April 29.
