Brice Cox pitched a gem to give the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team their sixth straight win and a sweep of Cosumnes River College at home on March 30.
Cox went six strong innings allowing one run on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts. In 39 and ⅓ innings on the season, Cox has a 2.97 ERA with 10.97 K/9 and a 1.09 WHIP.
Cox consistently induced groundouts and flyouts by keeping the Cosumnes River hitters guessing and off balance. The Consumnes River hitters made minimal hard contact, and Cox was helped by excellent defense.
First baseman Josh Martin made several diving plays to prevent hits. He also got the ball rolling for the offense by launching a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first.
Cosumnes River scored their only run on an RBI double by center fielder Chris Christenson in the top of the third. Bear Cubs center fielder Alex Leopard prevented further damage by making a diving catch for the third out of the inning, maintaining the 2-1 lead.
SRJC increased the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by shortstop Aidan Lombardi.
Collin Medeiros took over for Cox in the top of the seventh. After a walk, Medeiros caught a line-drive comebacker and back-picked the runner for a double play.
The Bear Cubs added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run single by catcher Cameron Duran, increasing the lead to 6-1.
Duran has started at catcher for each of the last six straight wins after an injury to Mason Cox. The new starter has made the most of his opportunity, hitting .313 with strong defense behind the plate.
“I couldn’t be more impressed with [Duran] behind the plate, he’s doing a heck of a job,” said assistant coach Tom Francois. “If [Cox] comes back he’ll have to play himself into shape again, but right now Duran is doing a good job.”
Leopard moved from center field to the mound and closed out the ninth inning, sealing the win and sweep for the Bear Cubs.
“We’ve been playing solid baseball and we have to keep that going,” said Francois. “The pitching was solid and we need to keep getting clutch hits.”
SRJC moved to 20-8 on the season and will begin a three-game series against San Joaquin Delta at 2:30 p.m. on April 2 at home.
