Since dropping the team’s first matchup with the Fremont Firebirds way back on March 18, the Santa Clara Bruins haven’t lost a league game since. That early loss was a battle for first place at the time.
Santa Clara has bounced back beautifully by winning 10-straight games, including the Bruins’ latest win, a 10-5 win over the Monta Vista Matadors. For the three-game season series, the Bruins outscored the Matadors 35-12.
Included in the 10-game stretch of consecutive victories was an 11-1 victory over the Firebirds, putting the Bruins in first place by one game in the loss column. The Bruins now sit with a 13-1 mark, while Fremont finds itself at 11-2.
The Bruins have one more league game on May 1 against MacDonald before the team plays its third and final matchup against the Firebirds. For the second-straight season, the league title will likely come down to that series finale between the top two teams.
Santa Clara, though, for what it’s worth, seems to be fully focused on the task at hand and isn’t allowing itself to look past teams like Monta Vista and MacDonald. The players know any slip-up could cost them a league title with such little separation between themselves and the Firebirds.
“We try to approach each game as if the opponent is equal to our level, or maybe we are just a bit better,” chimed Bruins senior Jaxton Chau. “I feel like we don’t overlook anyone because we are out here to prove we belong in the A league.”
“I think it all starts with accountability,” added fellow senior Greg Salgado. “Each player holds each other accountable. We have leaders who step up and a locker room where we can go to each other [for support.] We all have each other’s backs.”
The Bruins sure sound like a tight-knit group of players. All told, the team has nine seniors on the roster, and this veteran group of players received high praise over the recent spring break from Manager Pedro Martinez, who called them a “special” team.
What is it that makes them so special, though?
“I think we are really talented and we have a lot of good chemistry,” remarked senior pitcher and infielder Drew Diffenderfer. “I think a lot of other teams might have one or the other, but a lot of them don’t have both. A bunch of us have been playing together since we were younger, and we’ve known each other for a long time. I think that adds to our team dynamic.”
Perhaps defensively is where the Bruins showed chemistry the most in closing out the season-series sweep of the Matadors on Tuesday afternoon.
In three of the final four innings, Bruins’ pitchers Bruce Gibson and Jonathan Young induced inning-ending double plays. Salgado started off two of them from his second base position before flipping to shortstop Andrew Traffas and onto first base, the classic 4-6-3 double play.
The final two outs came with Young fielding his pitching position, throwing to Traffas covering the bag, and then the throw to first was just in time for the 21st and final out of the game.
