The College of DuPage baseball team (10-12) played against the Olive-Harvey College Panthers (11-12) on April 10. DuPage went into this game determined to snap out of a three game losing streak just one day after losing against Morton College, 5-7, the day prior.
The first two and half innings of the game, pitching was the dominating score-factor with zero runs and a few hits. The bottom of the third finally prevailed as the Chaps scored the game’s first run, taking a 1-0 lead.
The score remained stagnant until the fifth inning when the Panthers scored three runs taking the lead for the first time that day. An inning later, the Chaps tied the game 3-3, followed by a swift Olive-Harvey response with a two-run lead in the seventh.
At the bottom of the eighth, DuPage scored one run and had two men on base. However, they fell short as the Panthers stopped the bleeding heading into the ninth.
In the final inning, DuPage made sure to not let Olive-Harvey score another run heading to the bottom half. The Panthers made quick work of the Chaps, with the game ending in a 4-5 loss for the Chaps, marking their record 10-13.
After the game, head coach Pat Leahy talked about the missed opportunities to tie or win the game.
“We got ourselves out on the basepads on a big spot which hurt our situational hitting. [It] was not where it needed to be.” Leahy said, “It’s just a matter of sticking to a plan that we have at the plate and not swinging at bad pitches, which we did not do a good job of today.”
When asked about the team’s performance, Leahy talked about both their talents and flaws but overall, the team is a group of talented players he still believes in.
“They do a lot of things right,” Leahy said, “We played the ball game the correct way. At the moment, we were struggling to put together a full game and execute when it matters most, but I still have a ton of confidence in this group. I still trust we will get it done at the end of the year and just gotta turn around quickly and start taking steps in the right direction here very soon.”
The Chaps rested on Saturday before taking on the Harper College Hawks on April 12, where they lost 7-10. The Chaps will start the long streak of away games in Joliet, Ill against the Joliet Junior College Wolves on April 13.
The Chaps will then head to River Grove, Ill on April 16 to play the Triton College Trojans at 3:00 p.m. followed by another road game against Bryant & Stratton College on April 17 at a location yet to be determined. They will then take a road trip to Milwaukee to play a doubleheader against Milwaukee Area Technical College on April 18, with game one starting at noon.
