Despite a strong defensive effort from Diamond Bar baseball, the Brahmas could not overcome the Walnut Mustangs, losing 2-0. This drops DB’s overall record to 16-4 and league record to 5-2, two games behind Bonita High School for first place in league.
The Mustangs scored first in the top of the first but had only one run for the rest of the inning. DB got off to a sluggish start after they were retired in the first inning. With Walnut up 1-0 after the first, DB kept the Mustangs scoreless for the next three innings. However, DB simply could not get on the board with their offense struggling to get a hit.
In the top of the fifth, the Mustangs led off with a, which led to Walnut increasing its lead to 2-0. DB senior pitcher Sean Patton struck out the last batter to end the rally.
The Brahmas tried to fight back with some hard hits in the next couple of innings, but could not get on base. Although the Brahmas played mistake-free defense, they could not capitalize as their offense was lethargic all game long.
The Brahmas made key defensive plays and had hard hits but ultimately came up short against the Mustangs. “Our defense did well today. We had no errors out in the field. But we just got shut out at the plate and we shouldn’t have,” senior co-captain Casey Kernohan said. Kernohan had the only hit for the Brahmas in the bottom of the fifth.
“Our pitching is one of our greatest strengths this season. Our pitchers have really stepped up and done a good job,” senior co-captain Tommy Delgadillo said. The Brahmas have had a strong overall season and has shown their strength both in the field and at the plate this season.
With a stellar defense led by Walters along with an all-star offense, the Brahmas are primed to compete for a league championship and make a deep run into the playoffs. “The team has a lot of potential to finish the season strong and play some good baseball,” coach Eric Shibley said.
The Brahmas have five league games left in the season with the last two games against a very strong Bonita Bearcats team. “After today’s loss we hope that the team will come back humbled and fired up for our next game. And hopefully this will help us fuel our hard work for the rest of the season,” senior co-captain Zeph Walters said.