Baseball has officially begun. The Trojans’ first home game was Saturday, Feb. 11 against the Cosumnes River Hawks. The team entered into that game with an 0-2 record and were looking to fight for their first win.

In the Trojans’ season opener against the 2011 State Champions, the San Joaquin Delta Mustangs, they lost 7-3. The Trojans next game, on Feb. 9 in Sacramento against Cosumnes River, resulted in their fall to an 0-2 record in a disappointing 7-1 loss.

Looking forward to coming home for the first time this season, the Trojans were looking to get even with Cosumnes and score their first win of the season.

The Trojan bats were hitting hard, but third basemen Anthony Gutierrez’s double, triple and walk unfortunately weren’t enough to win. The Trojans left the bases loaded several times and missed many opportunities to score. Their hitting just didn’t stack up against the pitching of Cosumnes River.

Trojan pitcher Andrew Hidalgo started for the first time and suffered his first loss of the year. The Trojans got on the board first on a wild pitch, which was their only run of the game.

Looking past Saturday’s game, Gutierrez said the team needed to be better prepared against the Mustangs. Gutierrez continued, saying the Trojans’ defense and offense needs to relax, read the ball while at the plate, and come out strong.

The loss was disappointing for the Trojans. They fought hard and had opportunities that just weren’t capitalized on early in the game. The team was ready to put that game in the past and move on to facing the Mustangs on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Pitcher Tyler Cyr was the starter in Tuesday’s game. The first few innings started as a pitcher’s duel. Both pitchers were throwing strikes left and right, retiring hitters back to back. The Mustangs broke the stalemate by scoring in the top of the third, and they held their 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.

Outfielder Josh Tupper singled in the bottom of the third, and then shortstop Justin Meier had a sacrifice bunt to move Tupper over to second base. Trojan infielder A.J Santiago hit an RBI double to get the Trojans on the board.

The fourth inning was disastrous for the Trojans. They gave up eight runs on seven hits with three different pitchers being utilized in that inning alone. Numerous errors ended up costing the Trojans the game, and they were handed their fourth consecutive defeat. The Mustangs won on a final score of 17-2.

Following the loss, Santiago voiced his concerns in regards to the 2012 season thus far.

“We need to stop breaking down after three innings,” Santiago said. “Our team likes to shut down after they (the opposing team) score a couple runs. We just gotta keep things going. Keep the overall morale up.”

Adding to what Santiago had to say, Cyr chimed in that “it’s hard when you are behind, but we need to find the strength and pull it together.”

After being pulled in the fourth after allowing a two-run homer, Cyr addressed his struggles after the game.

“(I was) frustrated,” Cyr said. “I know as for myself I feel like I could have done better. I feel like I let my team down.”

The Trojans will head to Redding to face Shasta for a three game series on Friday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 19.