Freshman outfielder Myles Mendez expressed the importance of chemistry after the Cerritos College baseball team scraped together a victory over Ventura College Thursday.

“We’ve built on chemistry since day one, from our first summer practice up until now, ” Mendez said.

“We’ve been able to goof around but still maintain our focus when we play… chemistry has been big for us.”

The team sat with a 3-5 overall record after its victory over Ventura College last Thursday. It began preparations to face Cerro Coso College back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday, a team it didn’t see the previous season.

Sophomore pitcher Sebastian Frutos, who got the final out versus Ventura College to seal a personal 2-0 record on the season, stated he would rather not know a lot of details about a new opponent.

“I’d rather not know anything [about Cerro Coso College] to get myself more prepared to go over there and take it to them,” Frutos said.

Expectations have been set high by both players and Head Coach Ken Gaylord.

“I want us to keep getting better… some of these young guys coming from high school to college have to make some mistakes before they will finally start getting it,” Gaylord continued.

“You can tell them, tell them, and tell them, but sometimes they need to go through it and fail before they can figure it out.”

On a positive note, he added, “Our pitching is getting a little bit more under control, though, which is good.”

Hayden Stevens, a freshman third baseman, has clearer expectations in his head, stating that he wants to, “win conference and win games.”

“We’ve been losing games just because we haven’t been getting that one hit, or due to a lot of errors the past few games, so hopefully we’ll improve,” he said.

All three players agreed that they have the right coaches in charge moving forward in the season, with Mendez adding that, “I have never doubted them… they get the job done and they get it through us.”

“They get on us, and it’s for the best because they want to see us succeed.”