With a two game winning streak and what seemed to be a strong close out of the season ended on Tuesday, April 26 when long time rivals, the Cañada Colts, shut down the Trojans with a score of 10-1.

What started off as a pitching battle quickly rolled over into a slow, drawn-out game. Skyline’s starting pitcher Daniel Madigan struggled on the mound, unable to keep the Colts at bay.

The Trojans kept Cañada’s pitcher, Elijah Saunders, on his toes. However, big hits were short lived, most of them landing as fouls.

When the Trojans did make contact with the ball, Cañada’s quick defensive plays ended the Trojans’ time at bat.

Skyline continued to hold their ground in the third inning. With Cañada in the dugout and a man on third, a big hit to left field gave the Colts a chance to run for home.

Skyline countered back and secured their last two outs by a caught ball that was hit to left field, and a tag by catcher Felix Aberouette, who cut off Cañada’s stride to home plate.

After shutting down Cañada’s opportunity to score, the Trojans lost momentum and personally opened a door to victory for the Colts.

Saunders opened the fourth inning by handing the Trojans a position on base after walking center fielder Brett Berghammer.

Left fielder Nick Healey hoped to bring his teammate in, but a hit to left field fell short and Berghammer was left stranded on first.

Attempts of keeping the Colts from scoring were not enough.

With only one out in the bottom of the fourth, Madigan loaded the bases, putting the Trojans in a tight spot.

A low hit to right field brought in a run for the Colts.

Long exchanges of pitches and fouls ended with an error on Skyline’s end. A ball hit to right field tipped off of right fielder Neil Sterling’s glove and bounced back to the fence.

“Right now we’re just trying to play our best with the last few games we have in the season,” Berghammer said. “But what really gave them momentum was that error, so after that they just kept building off of it and we just couldn’t put it off.”

The Trojan’s defense did not recover quick enough and Cañada’s third base coach flagged all three men in.

The fourth inning dragged on and eventually ended with a score of 4-0.

The Trojans collected themselves in the seventh inning when Berghammer hit a single. Skyline bunted the next pitch which allowed Berghammer to run to second. Third baseman Armando Fajardo brought Berghammer in with a double to left field, but one run was not enough.

Already at a high pitch count, Madigan continued to pitch through the bottom of the seventh.

With a strong lead under their belts, the Colts continued to run circles around the Trojans and distanced themselves by earning six more runs. By the end of the inning the score board lit up as 10-1.

“We weren’t able to execute our game plan offensively and on the pitching side,” pitcher Michael Valdes said, who watched from the team dugout. “As a group we competed but weren’t able to get timely hits. We played a quality team.”

At last, Skyline switched out Madigan and brought in their relief pitcher, Roberto Zucchiatti for the eighth.

Cañada got some hits in but the Trojans worked fast to get their three outs in order to return to the dugout.

The final inning came around and Skyline, again, swapped out pitchers. This time, closing pitcher RJ Hanson, stepped on to the mound.

The inning ended with a third out which sent the Colts onto the field to celebrate.

The Trojans walked off with their heads hung low after a loss to their rival team, concluding the game with a score of 10-1.

“We come out with fire but it just doesn’t ever seem to be enough,” Berghammer said. “We just gotta keep playing and try to get better every day.”