Shoddy Fielding Leads to Lopsided Loss for Falcons

With a chance to clinch a third place finish in the Bay Valley Conference standings, the FLC baseball team instead fumbled away yesterday's game at Falcon Field with 7 fielding errors – which led to 10 unearned runs – in a 16-5 loss to Laney College.  Compounding the problem was the fact that 10 Laney batters reached base either by base-on-balls or by hit-by-pitch.  The visiting Eagles took advantage by getting timely hits in key situations; a grand slam home run in the 3^rd inning gave them their first lead, and a three-run bomb in the 5^th made it 8-2.

The Falcons must now regroup as they play their final game of the regular season tomorrow (Thursday) against Napa Valley at Falcon Field at 2:30 pm.  With a win, the Falcons will finish in third place in the BVC.  They can still take third with a loss, but Napa would have to lose at Yuba on Friday.  The Falcons are hoping for a spot in the CCCAA state playoffs, which begin with a play-in game for the bottom four teams on Tuesday April 28.  The 14 higher seeded teams begin play on May 1 with a best-of-three series.