After four games in five days against the College of San Mateo, it appears clear that the two teams are evenly matched. Marin grabbed a 6-1 victory on Saturday to split the four game series. Marin took an early lead and controlled the game from the outset. Dominic Burke was very effective in his first start of the season on the mound, while Marcus Chiu had a home run for the second straight game.
Both teams traded zeroes for the first two innings before Marin broke the deadlock in the top of the third inning. Christian Merriwether walked with one out which brought Marcus Chiu to the plate. The Mariners second baseman crushed the second pitch of the at bat out of the stadium for a 2-0 Mariners lead.
After a scoreless bottom of the third, the Mariners got back to work in the top of the fourth inning. Adam Hussain led off with a walk and advanced to second on a one out single by Will Zurcher. Jason Rodriguez drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single. After a fielder's choice, Chiu singled to drive in another run before a double by Jakob Davidson pushed the Mariner's advantage to 5-0.
Dominic Burke made his debut on the mound on Saturday, and was very effective for the first four innings as he allowed just three hits and no runs while striking out a pair. Christian Rudkin relieved Burke in the bottom of the fifth and allowed just one base runner in through the end of the seventh inning.
San Mateo scored their lone run of the game in the eighth inning courtesy of a solo home run but it was the only run the home team would score. The Mariners added a sixth run of the game in the top of the ninth before Rudkin shut down San Mateo in the bottom half to seal the victory. Rudkin earned the save while allowing just one run and two hits in five innings while striking out a pair.
Chiu was 3 for 4 on the afternoon with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Over the four game week he was 6 for 16 with two home runs, four runs and nine RBI. Head Coach Steve Berringer was very complimentary of Chiu, "The past week Marcus looked comfortable at the plate and was able to slow the game down. His two HR were very impressive. As the weather continues to get better I believe Marcus will to stay hot."
Marin's record now sits at 6-8 while San Mateo fell to 10-3. Prior to this week San Mateo was ranked 4th in Northern California.
Despite some recent struggles Coach Berringer is optimistic about the future of the season "We are starting to play much better. Offensively we are getting the big two out hit and on the mound we continue to put together strong starts. With two weeks before conference play begins I believe we are right where we need to be as a team."
The Mariners begin conference play on March 7th against Los Medanos College.