The old sports adage to "take it one game at a time" sure fits the Chabot College baseball program.
Gladiators head coach Will Tavis approaches each contest as a one-game season and says his players have done an "outstanding" job embracing that philosophy all season.
That mindset won't change this week, even though it's an exciting time to be a Gladiator. Chabot, riding an eight-game winning streak, enters the final week of the Coast-North season in a thrilling four-team race for the top two spots.
Chabot (24-12, 12-6) and College of San Mateo (21-15-1, 12-6) are tied for third place in the conference, both teams two games behind first-place Skyline (28-8, 14-4) and a game behind second-place West Valley (23-15, 13-5).
Chabot will play at Skyline on Tuesday, April 26, and then will host the same Trojans on Thursday, April 28 at Steve Friend Stadium. Both games start at 2:30 p.m.
Adding to the drama, CSM and West Valley will also square off in a two-game series on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, so it's all out there for the four contenders.
Statistics and season scenarios aside, Tavis and his staff have held a strong positive belief in their players all season, and "I can tell they believe in each other," Tavis said of the players.
In action last week, Chabot beat West Valley 9-8 in a 13-inning thriller on April 19, and then upended CCSF 11-3 on April 21 and 6-3 on April 23.
Tavis described each effort with a familiar refrain: "Great TEAM win."
Against West Valley, pitcher Bryce Clark went five strong innings and struck out six, and Andres DeLeon went 6.1 innings and struck out seven. Josh Caravalho struck out three over 1.2 innings. Red-hot Sam Gilliam was 3 for 7 with a home run and three RBI. Jon Jon Gazdar and Fred Ramos were both 4 for 7 and Alonzo Guijarro was 3 for 6 with three RBI.
In the 11-3 triumph over CCSF, Hawk Hill went seven innings with five strikeouts, Matt Sugden was 3 for 5 with THREE doubles and five RBI. Nick Maestas belted a GRAND SLAM.
In the 6-3 road win over CCSF, Gabe Tanner struck out seven over six innings and reliever Andres DeLeon struck out two over two innings. Fernando Sansone was 2 for 5 with a double. Gazdar was 1 for 3 with an RBI, and Maestas was 1 for 3 with a double.