De Anza’s baseball team held off No. 2 Skyline College for three innings with the help of a pitcher back from injury on March 14, losing 8-3.
A familiar face stepped on the mound for the Mountain Lions as starting pitcher Skylar Roenicke (De Anza No. 9) 21, film production major, made his return to the mound, marking his first appearance of the year.
“He has been nursing an injury since the fall,” head coach Don Watkins said. “The plan was to bring him back for Skyline’s start of conference.”
Roenicke pitched two innings of scoreless baseball and struck out one Trojan.
“I was on pitch restrictions but I just want to ease my way back into the game,” Roenicke said. “I don’t want to rush anything too soon but going forward there will definitely be a lot more appearances.”
Roenicke held a 2-3 record in the 2025-26 season, striking out 27 hitters in 10 appearances.
“I knew that based on my performance last year,” Roenicke said. “These guys had nothing on me, I could just shove.”
The quiet game stirred up in the fourth inning when second baseman Santino Nanez (Skyline No. 1) scored from Nick Tobin’s (Skyline No. 28) right-field sacrifice fly.
The Mountain Lions would follow up in the home half of the fourth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded. To tie the game 1-1, catcher Jordan Maske (De Anza No. 23), 20, communications major, walked designated hitter Colin Williams (De Anza No. 13), 20, kinesiology major.
The Mountain Lions were unable to surpass the Trojans as starting pitcher Steven Dalton (Skyline No. 11) escaped the loaded-bases jam by striking out center fielder Xaiver Pateli (De Anza No. 7), 21 liberal arts major.
Skyline scored one run in the sixth and seventh innings, taking the lead 3-1.
With two outs in the eighth inning, first baseman Keanu Hennings (De Anza No. 17) 20, kinesiology major, hit a solo home run to left center, minimizing the run deficit for the Mountain Lions.
Skyline came up in the ninth inning with a five-run inning.
Two runners scored after Nanez hit a hard groundball that bounced past second baseman Drew Paxton (De Anza No. 2) 20, business administration major, who played in on the grass trying to defend.
Skyline scored its final run from a passed ball that bounced by Maske.
The Mountain Lions scored one more run in the ninth inning, ending the game with a final score of 8-3.
“Taking two of the week, winning the week is the ideal situation, but (we’re) facing a team like this who’s top 10 in the state. Taking one win is good,” said pitcher Diego Casorla (De Anza No. 32) 20, administration of justice major.
“We’re happy with the way we are playing, we are always in the game and it’s not just a rollover week,” Casorla said.
The Mountain Lions stand at a 4-18 overall record after its 6-3 loss against Diablo Valley College on Monday, March 16.
De Anza faces an away game against the San Mateo College Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.
