By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — After winning their first two games of the 2011 season in Connecticut, the Sullivan County Community College Generals baseball team recently spent eight days playing 10 games against other community college teams in the states of Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
SCCC Coach Ryan Snair noted that because of the warmer weather in those states, “all of those teams had already played about 20 games this season.”
While the Generals only posted one victory on their spring training trip, a 7-2 win over Rappahannock (Va.) Community College on March 22, and opened their Region XV schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a 5-3 loss to the Orange County Community College Colts, Snair has been encouraged by the way his players are continuing to work hard.
“Seven of our 10 losses have been by three runs or less,” Snair said on Wednesday morning. “So we’re right there, we’re in the games.”
In Tuesday’s loss to the Colts, SCCC sophomore Efrain Bautista went 1-for-4. Bautista’s hit was an RBI triple.
Pitcher Craig Miller took the loss for the Generals. He went six innings, gave up two runs, struck out six batters and walked four batters.
Snair noted that one of the runs Miller gave up was unearned.
“We limited Orange to four hits and we had six hits,” Snair said.
Snair, who is in his second season of leading the Generals, remains confident that he, along with Assistant Coach Jed Carrier, Assistant Coach Tom Mattice and Pitching Coach Everett Saul, can guide the Generals to a successful season.
“We just need to get a couple of more wins under our belt,” Snair said. “We are improving and we’ll be OK.”
Notes: The Generals traveled to Augusta, N.J. on Wednesday afternoon for a non-conference game against host Sussex (N.J.) Community College.
Sussex prevailed by the final score of 5-3.
Jossue Delgado had two hits and Carlos Jimenez added an RBI to lead the Generals’ offense.
SCCC’s record is now 3-11 overall and 0-1 in Region XV.
Weather and field conditions permitting, the Generals are slated to play at Orange CC at 3:30 p.m. today.
Sullivan is scheduled to host the final two games of the four-game Region XV series vs. the Colts with a doubleheader at noon tomorrow on the SCCC campus in Loch Sheldrake.