The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
The College of San Mateo Bulldogs have been on fire since the start of Coast North Conference baseball play. CSM (6-0 Coast North, 18-7) rolled to its sixth straight win to open conference play Saturday with a 17-2 shellacking of De Anza College on the Hilltop. The Bulldogs’ 16 hits improved their team batting average to .306 overall, including a state-best .416 in conference games.
Joseph Hoskins
Sophomores Leandro Pena and Aaron Babaev each homered for the Bulldogs, while sophomore Elijah Ward went 3 for 6 with two RBIs. Keanu Hennings led De Anza (1-5, 4-22) with two hits.
Freshman Joseph Hoskins got CSM on the board in the first with an RBI groundout. Hoskins added an RBI groundout in the third to make it 3-0, then doubled home a run in a five-run fourth. The Bulldogs piled on in the fourth in a rally that included an RBI double from freshman Carter Bleeker, an RBI triple from freshman Jacob Ryan and an RBI single from Ward.
Sophomore right-hander A.J. Minyard worked five shutout innings to earn the win, improving his record to 3-2. Minyard allowed three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
With the win, the Bulldogs sweep their second straight three-game series to open Coast North play. The previous week, they swept City College of San Francisco (0-6, 1-24), and have scored in double digits in all six conference games, outscoring De Anza and CCSF by a total of 106-12.
