March 25, 2017
by Kaivon Kealoha
L 3-1
Over the weekend, Taft and Merced went head to head for the third and final time of the season. Cougar starter, Chase Nistor threw an impressive 7.2 innings. Nistor allowed 8 hits, 3 runs, on 3 strikeouts and just 2 walks and kept the Cougars in a 1 run game through 7. Seth Sorensen came out of the bullpen to get the last out of the 8th.
The Cougars managed just one run on 6 hits. Richard Ortiz grinded out a long at-bat, and with much of the at-bat being a two strike battle, Ortiz took a 3-2 fastball and roped it back up the middle to drive in Jayce Gardner. Dominic Tating was the only Cougar with a multi-hit performance. He went 2-for-4.
Taft College will travel to Cerro Coso on Tuesday, March 28 to open up a 3 game series. Taft is now 10-13-1 overall, and 4-4 in conference while Cero Coso is 12-13 overall, and 4-7 in conference.