Caltech Baseball Ends 10-Year, 228-Game Losing Streak
Caltech baseball ended their infamous 10-year, 228-game losing streak Saturday by defeating Pacifica 9-7. The California Institute of Technology Division III Beavers aren't the only team in which the school has ended a years-long losing streak, though.
Caltech baseball's first victory since Feb. 15, 2003- then, they beat Cal State University-Monterey Bay- came in the second of the season's opening double-header against Pacifica. Pacifica won the first game, coming out 5-0. The second game, however, was a much different story, as Derek Kearney singled in Albie Lavin in the sixth inning.
"There was a good sense of composure," first-year baseball coach Matthew Mark told The New York Times. "It was almost as if they had been there before."
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For senior third baseman Mason Freedman, who and a hit and run batted in, he has been there before. Freedman was on Caltech's basketball team two years ago, back when they broke a 310-game conference losing streak.
The baseball team has not been so lucky- the game they won this past weekend was a non-conference game, so the Beavers losing streak in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference continues. They have not won a conference game since 1988, which equals 463 losses in a row.
If they play as other Caltech teams, they could improve, though. In addition to the men's basketball team ending their gargantuan skid in 2011, their women's volleyball team broke a 56-game losing streak just last year.
Caltech's baseball team also has freshman pitcher Daniel Chou, who contributed significantly to the team's hard-fought victory. Chou made sure Pacifica didn't get one hit for the first four innings. He played out the rest of the game as well, allowing eight hits and seven runs total.
The Beavers will begin their 24-game SCIAC schedule Feb. 15 at Whittier in California.
