Men’s Tennis
The Falcons were clearly dominant in their Big 8 Conference opener Thursday afternoon, winning all nine matches in the 9-0 shutout of Santa Rosa at the Falcon Tennis Complex. Shawn Morgan, Jeff Chale, Alex Bychkoviak, Josh Harder, Max Hennessy, and Praj Ta were all winners in both singles and doubles as the Falcons improved their season record to 3-0. They must now focus their attention on Tuesday’s match against defending Big 8 champ American River. The teams were originally scheduled to play last Tuesday, but rain forced the postponement.

Women’s Tennis
With nearly nearly two weeks having passed since their last competition, the Falcon women were excited to find dry courts and blue skies on Thursday afternoon. Their play reflected their competitive desires as they opened Big 8 Conference play with an 8-1 win over Santa Rosa at the FLC Tennis Complex. New number one player Ella Zagorenko was dominant in winning in both singles and with partner Ariele Frank in doubles as the team improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Big 8 play. The Falcons will next face Sierra College on Tuesday in Rocklin.

Women’s Softball
The Falcons hosted College of the Redwoods on Thursday afternoon in a make-up doubleheader that was rained out in Eureka last weekend. The Falcons wasted no time in the opener as they scored five runs in the first inning, then added one in the second and two more in the third to go up 8-0.  With an eight-run lead to work with, Falcon pitcher Lauren Orris shut out the Corsairs while giving up just five hits to earn the five-inning win.

In the second game, the Corsairs turned the tables as they collected 15 hits on their way to a 14-1 victory over the Falcons. The home team contributed to the blowout by committing four errors while managing just three hits of their own. The loss dropped the Falcons’ record to 2-2.

On Saturday, the Falcons opened their Big 8 schedule with a doubleheader at Delta College in Stockton, but came home without a victory as the Mustangs walloped the Falcons twice, 16-1 and 9-0. In the opener, sophomore infielder Abigail Strickland collected two of the Falcons’ five hits in providing one of the few highlights. Right fielder Mickaela Robertson had two hits in the late game, but the Falcons were shut out with just four total hits.

Men’s Baseball
With the rain having eliminated any chance of outdoor practice last week, the Falcons traveled to Ukiah to take on Mendocino College on Thursday afternoon. The Eagles were already leading 2-1 when they put up a three-spot in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. The Falcons responded with two in the seventh on a Greg Vaughn RBI single and a Carson McCusker sacrifice fly to close the gap to 5-3.  In the ninth, the Falcons made it interesting as they scored on John Mook’s RBI single to make it 5-4, then loaded the bases before the game ended on a Mason Allen flyout.

After traveling 340 miles on Thursday’s round trip to Ukiah, the Falcons made the 255-mile one-way trip to Porterville on Saturday morning for another non-conference game. This time the Folsom Lake squad prevailed 14-10 as they pounded out 16 hits. After falling behind 5-2 in the second inning, the Falcons took the lead for good when they scored six in the third, then added one in the fourth and two more in the fifth.  First baseman Kale Leach not only led the team with four singles in four at-bats (and 3 RBI), but came in to pitch a perfect ninth to cement the win. Carson McCusker and Aidan Malm each added three hits as they continued to swing hot bats for the Falcons.

Upcoming Sports Schedule

Fri March 3       Men’s Tennis at Diablo Valley (Pleasant Hill), 1:00 pm

                Softball at Butte (Oroville), 1:00 and 3:00 pm

                M/W Tennis vs Solano at FLC, 1:00 pm

Sat March 4      Men’s Tennis vs Foothill at ARC, 9:00 am

                Softball vs Modesto at FLC, 12:00 & 2:00 pm

                Baseball vs Sac City at FLC, 1:00 pm