JC baseball: Fresno City’s season comes to an end at state final four

Minutes after the Fresno City College baseball team saw its season come to an end to San Joaquin Delta on Day 2 at the state final four on Sunday, Rams coach Ron Scott gathered his team in left field to thank them for a great season.

Then Scott approached Scott Silva and Zak Taylor in the dugout to say they were the best infielders he’s had in a long time.

In a season in which Scott earned his 900th coaching win and a Central Valley Conference title, a state title is what he wanted for the players.

The Rams fell short of that goal following a 13-2 defeat to the Mustangs at John Euless Ballpark.

“Disappointing for the players,” said Scott, whose team finishes 35-11. “As coaches, we’ll do everything we can to get back here. Our guys really had a good season.”

The Mustangs scored four runs in both the first and second innings, and the Rams couldn’t recover from an 8-2 deficit.

“We couldn’t pitch well this weekend,” Scott said. “What can you say? We got beat. There’s only one team left standing. If you finish fourth, third or second it doesn’t matter. We came here to finish first.”

Said Rams center fielder Daniel Gardner: “It’s not the way you want to start for sure. We’ve been in that situation before and did a great job putting up a two-spot back up there (in the first inning) but the next four-spot they put (in the second inning) was just too much for us.”

Rams second baseman Scott Silva said “it’s a hard one to take in.”

“We had a strong team and thought we were a lot better than we were,” said Silva, who was offered by Long Beach State and will meet with Fresno State soon. “We didn’t play like we could have. Rough weekend.”

Gardner will move on to play for University of San Diego.

“I’m still proud of my guys,” Gardner said. “These last two years at Fresno City … I’m going to look back and say this was one of the best years of my life. To my coaches and teammates I’m so happy I met them and wish them the best.”

Fresno City shortstop Zak Taylor, who scored a run in the first inning, said he enjoyed playing with his teammates.

“One of the greatest seasons I’ve ever had, baseball wise,” he said. “Not even individually, more so as a team. These guys are my brothers. The camaraderie we had is something you cannot break.”

Scott, 62, said he’ll “probably” coach the Rams for another five years as he goes into the offseason 922-336. He could get his 1,000th coaching win in 2 1/2 years and wants to get a state title before he retires.

“I’m still a young guy,” said Scott, who completed his 27th season as the Rams coach. “We’re going to do everything we can do to get back here.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "JC baseball: Fresno City’s season comes to an end at state final four."