Games against Merced and COS have FCC baseball in prime position for playoff push

Going into the last month of the season, the Fresno City College baseball team is in prime position to take its Central Valley Conference title. It could be the team’s sixth championship in a row.

After 10-3 win over Merced on April 2, FCC stands at 11-5 in conference play (15-11 overall). The team has two more games in a row against their rivals from Merced and an upcoming game with the conference leaders, College of Sequoias.

The Rams need to beat COS to clinch the top seed going into the conference championship tournament.

“We can still win the CVC,”  sophomore pitcher Dominic Topoozian said. “Overall we want to make the playoffs and put another state championship on the wall.”

Topoozian is currently 5-4 overall with a 2.44 era. He has logged in 59 innings and recoreded 43 strikeouts.

According to Assistant Head Coach Eric Solberg, the Rams have made it to the state playoffs eight times, winning in 1992 in his third year as an assistant.

The team has a long history of victories, and the coaching staff has won thousands of games as a staff.

In order to accomplish the goal of moving into the postseason, they have to get through the Central Valley Conference.

This season has been plagued with highs and lows. The No. 13 Rams dominated the Porterville Tigers 6-2, 7-4 and 10-1. After the first three games, the Rams looked to be one of the best teams in the state. They are top 5 in the conference in runs batted in, with 92 on the season.  Then they played three games against the College of the Sequoias.

FCC lost 5-3, 8-7 and 8-4 between March 18 – 22.

Despite the slump, the Rams have the potential to turn the season around.

“Good thing we have enough coaches,” Topoozian said. “Wherever you’re on the field there’s always someone that can help you out.”