Atwater off to bumpy start in baseball, falls to Sierra

Two games into the season, and the bats have sputtered out of the gate for the Atwater High School baseball team.

The Falcons managed just five hits Friday as Sierra left-handers Leo Soto and Ryan Vasquez combined for a 4-0 win at Memorial Ballpark.

“It’s early; it’s only our second game,” Atwater coach Jarrod Pimentel said. “We’ll get batter. We have a lot of returning players. I feel one through six in the lineup we’re going to be pretty good.”

A bigger concern for the Falcons (0-2) might be their pitching.

Three Atwater pitchers combined to walk seven and hit four to help set up scoring situations for Sierra all game.

Brody Patterson’s lack of command could be excused. The 6-foot-6 right-hander hit three batters in the first inning and walked the bases loaded in the second before exiting with the Falcons trailing 1-0.

Patterson opted to swim last year in order to train for water polo. He then spent last summer and fall playing water polo and basketball.

“He’s getting back into it,” Pimentel said. “He’s been in a couple intrasquad games and done very well. This was his first time in a game. He’s a competitor.”

Pimentel is looking for starting pitching. Central California Conference teams need three starters this year with the league changing to three games per week.

Pimentel has one sure starter in senior Austin Conour. The other two spots are up in the air.

“We have eight or nine pitchers so I’m not worried about not having enough pitchers,” Pimentel said. “I want to see who can take those number two and three spots. I’m looking for someone who can compete, someone who can throw strikes and get outs.”

Despite the rough outing, Patterson feels he can work his way into a spot.

“After taking last year off, I’m hungry for it,” he said. “If I can get my mechanics right and hit my spots, I think I can be one of our starting pitchers.”

There were bright spots from the pitching staff against the Timberwolves. Jaime Marquez relieved Patterson with the bases loaded in the second inning and got out of the jam with a ground ball.

Marquez ran into trouble in the third when he fell behind a couple hitters in a row. That led to an RBI single by Bailey Mittman and a run-scoring double by Vasquez that extended the Sierra lead to 3-0.

The Falcons had opportunities to cut into the lead but left two runners on base in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Atwater’s lone bright spot at the plate was Tony Romo, who went 2 for 3 with a double.

“You have to tip your cap to their little lefty (Soto),” Pimentel said. “He was 9-0 last year. He’s really good at pounding the zone. He threw a lot of strikes.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Atwater off to bumpy start in baseball, falls to Sierra."