After a recent win against Palomar College, the Knights’ baseball team is first place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC), with a record of 20-6.

The Knights have been winning behind the power of their pitching staff. Their pitchers boast a 2.72 ERA, while their opponents have been allowing 5.44 RPG.

The Knights’ head coach Chris Brown has coached the team for eleven seasons and believes that this year’s team has some of the best pitching he’s ever seen.

“The pitching depth is probably the key to making this team special,” Brown said. “We have an experienced pitching staff. Four of our pitchers are returners that have experience from last season.”

Some of the team’s talented pitchers are sophomore starting pitchers Hunter Herrera, Adam Bileckyj, and freshman closing pitcher Nick Geraci. Herrera was recently recognized as one of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference’s players of the week.

“These are our three guys on the mound that have really stepped it up,” Brown said. “They took their lumps last year and have combined the experience and their improved physical condition to make them one of the best in conference.”

The Knights’ batters deserve credit also. Sophomore shortstop Louis Cazares was also recognized as PCAC player of the week. The batter has started every game for the Knights, has a .303 batting average and leads the team in RBIs.

The team now sits in first place in the conference with a comfortable two game lead over second place team Palomar.

“The entire conference is competitive. Each one of conference teams is a rival,” Brown said. “We play each of them five times. We get to know each other very well.”

The Knights have four conference games remaining on their schedule and will host San Diego Mesa College at Morley field April 22.

“In past years we’ve had some pieces but now we have all of them,” Brown added. “If the players step up and play to the best of their abilities, we have an opportunity to go far this year.”