The Cosumnes River College Hawks secured a win against the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs in the series opener with a score of 5-4 on April 8.

The total playtime of the game was three hours, and the Hawks started off the game strong with a run in the first inning.

“There are some things we can fix, but when we play our style of baseball, we’re really good. We just put the line up together, and the guys execute it,” said Scott Haynes, the assistant coach.

After scoring the first run, the Hawks and the Mustangs went back and forth against each other for the next two innings.

“Everyone was locked in from the very first pitch. We all had each others’ back from the start and till the end of the game,” said Noah Canter, sophomore catcher.

As the Hawks kept applying the pressure, the Mustangs kept pushing, scoring a run in the fourth inning.

“Delta’s known to swing it; they got some good guys, so our ultimate goal was to put up some runs, get a good lead, and let our horse go to work,” Canter said.

The Hawks would then go on to setting up the field with two runners, before Canter walked up to the plate to swing a three-run home run for the Hawks.

“When Canter hit that home run, it was just a huge relief off our shoulders cause it was really close the entire time,” said Alan Quirarte-Guzman, freshman second baseman.

After Canter’s home run, both teams turned up the heat, and in the sixth inning they both scored a run, pushing the score to 5-2.

“The entire time our guys were fighting through it, and if I could describe the energy, all I have is one word… Electric,” said Noah Rhea-Meaux, sophomore outfielder and pitcher.

The game continued to be a fight, as the Hawks were working towards shutting down the Mustangs’ plays by making sure pitches were sharp and making sure they wouldn’t be able to catch up, Rhea-Meaux said.

The Hawks later went on to take the series against the Mustangs, winning the second game of the series 14-4 before dropping the last game 7-8 on Friday.

The team traveled to face Sierra College on Tuesday for the first of a three game series. The Hawks beat the Wolverines 4-3.

Tuesday’s win improves the team’s overall record to 19-14.

“Each day in practice, we go hard, and when it comes to game day, all we do is just show our craft,” said Rhea-Meaux.