‘They beat us fair and square': East Bay baseball coach explains 39-0, 30-0 losses
The Mt. Diablo baseball team lost twice to Miramonte this week by a combined score of 69-0. And it could have been worse.
Much worse.
But for all the eyebrow-raising the 39-0 and 30-0 losses generated — the Red Devils also failed to get a hit in either game — Mt. Diablo coach Bill Duby wasn’t angry or deterred. He says the rough week against the Diablo Athletic League contender was merely another growing pain in his quest to make Mt. Diablo competitive for the first time in years.
The Red Devils are in the middle of a long-term rebuild, Duby, the program's first-year coach, told the Bay Area News Group on Friday.
He said Miramonte did not intentionally pad its stats against the Red Devils and that Mt. Diablo simply has a long way to go to compete with teams of Miramonte's caliber.
Miramonte scored 29 first-inning runs in the series opener between the teams. Both games ended in the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
"They beat us fair and square," Duby said. "They weren’t trying to run up the score. We were just making mistakes. To be honest, most of my players who have played, this is their first year or their second year (playing baseball).
"We compare it to Miramonte or Alhambra, these guys have been playing since they were four to six years old. And you have year-round programs. I just started working with these guys in February."
Miramonte coach Steve Hammond told the Bay Area News Group that his team backed off in some respects despite the lopsided final totals.
“We teach our players to play to win each game, regardless the opponent or circumstances,” Hammond said. “When a lead gets big, we don't steal bases, replace our full starting lineup and got to the point where we don't advance on wild pitches.
“It can be a disservice to our players to play any way other than they are expected to play all season, but there are common-sense rules you follow once a game gets out of hand.”
Mt. Diablo's baseball program has been moribund for a very long time. The Red Devils have not posted a winning record in the MaxPreps era, which began during the 2004-05 school year, and they haven't been particularly close.
This season, Mt. Diablo has won seven games, the most in at least two decades. But the Diablo Athletic League's Valley Division has been unforgiving to the Red Devils.
After playing an independent schedule and going 3-6 in 2024, Mt. Diablo returned to the DAL Valley last season and went 0-10 in league play.
No loss reached the 30-run threshold, but the Red Devils often lost by 20 runs or more.
"Mark my words, we’ll be a lot better next year, and in the third year, we’ll be competing," Duby said. "But we shouldn’t be in the league right now because we’re rebuilding. The (nonleague) teams that used to beat us last year, we’re beating them now. It’s just that the league is so competitive, we’re not ready for that kind of schedule.
"Everybody we play has a year-round program, or their teams, their players play on a year-round program. These guys have never played baseball before. They don't even know what you're talking about when you talk about travel ball."
Duby is a Mt. Diablo alumnus and athletic Hall of Famer from the class of 1984 who returned home to try to rebuild the baseball program from the ground up. He said he started this season with 35 players and is now down to 12 due to attrition.
The process to reshape Mt. Diablo into a winner will be lengthy. But Duby says he is committed for the long haul.
Even when the losses come by unfathomable margins.
"If I wasn’t a fighter and a competitor, I would forfeit a game or two and then go play somewhere else," Duby said. "But that’s not what I’m about. That’s not fair to the other teams. If it was me, maybe I would have taken an out and gotten out of some innings if I was Miramonte. But at the same time, Miramonte was trying to get their players work, their bench work, and I don’t fault them for that."
He added that the Mt. Diablo administration has invested in the team, helping fund a new infield, bullpens and scoreboard.
"We’re doing great," Duby said. "I don’t want to ‘poo-poo me' and this and that, because guess what? I’m a builder, and I fight to the end.
"And all these guys better kick us while we’re down, because at some point, we’re going to be standing up on our feet."
The investment is noteworthy in part because Mt. Diablo had to replace a large section of its football turf after a fire damaged a large portion of the $1.8 million new field. The school did get some help from the Las Vegas Raiders, who donated $250,000 to help fund repairs.
Diablo Athletic League commissioner Mark Tran did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 8:13 PM.