DVC lost to Modesto 5-3 on Friday, April 5; the second loss to their conference rival in four days.

Modesto took the first lead in the second inning on an RBI double.

The runner was caught trying to advance to third, and pitcher Ben Krauth ended the half inning with his second strikeout.

DVC finally tied things up in the fourth. Designated hitter Nick Gavello led off with a double down the left field line. He then moved to third on outfielder’s Cameron Rowland groundout, and an error by the first baseman on shortstop’s Michael Brdar grounder allowed Gavello to score.

Krauth worked out of a jam in the fifth. After two singles to start the inning, a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. With two runners in scoring position and just one out, Krauth struck out the next two batters, giving him five strikeouts through five innings.

DVC loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but a flyout with two outs ended the rally.

Modesto cashed in on a bases loaded opportunity the very next inning with a three-run triple. The Vikings responded quickly.

Rowland led off with a bunt single, and second baseman Ryan Kochan smacked a one-out double, giving DVC two men in scoring position.

Third baseman Tyler Basker hit an RBI single, and catcher Michael Leal drove in Kochan on a sacrifice fly. DVC had cut the lead to 4-3.

Aside from the sixth inning blemish, Krauth continued his dominance on the mound. He recorded his seventh and eighth K’s; the latter on a nasty curve that had the batter flailing.

Pitcher Cody Ball relieved Krauth in the eighth inning. After putting runners on the corners with just one out, coach Dan Luquet elected to bring in pitcher Jacob Peters. Peters gave up a run on a sacrifice fly, the only one he allowed in his 1 2/3 innings of work.

DVC’s last scoring threat came in the eighth. Gavello singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a passed ball with one out. However, Brdar and Kochan struck out back-to-back to end the inning.

The Vikings were unable to muster offensive output in the ninth. Modesto took the game 5-3.

Coach Luquet is trying anything he can to jolt some life into his team’s bats: “I tried mixing things up in the lineup. (Michael) Mann played first, and I let (Tyler) Basker play third.”

Pitcher Riley McIntire said of the team’s poor offense, “We’ll have one bad inning where we’ll give up two runs, and things just fall apart.”

Outfielder Athan Koutsoubinas elaborated on that:

“When one half of the team is falling apart, the other half is lacking in picking them up. We need to put it all together for one game.”

DVC’s next home game is Thursday, April 11 against American River.