By Marcus Henderson
Staff Writer
It was a Friday the 13th massacre. The visiting Diego Brothers softball team defeated the San Quentin Hardtimers 29-7.
From the opening pitch, Diego Brother AJ Ferreira smacked a deep home run over the left field gate. The Brothers continued to put on a clinic throughout the game.
“This is our sixth year coming in. I had a blast,” said JD Diego. “It’s like a family reunion, these are our brothers. We always feel the love here. It’s all about the vibe and we got to meet the new guys.”
The Hardtimers revamped with a lot of young players getting some real game experience.
“It was a difficult game,” said Hardtimer Cordiare McDonald of the May 13 game. “Everybody was still supportive of each other. We need to show a little more dedication to the practice. At the end of the day, mistakes happen.
“We are thankful for the chance to interact with the outside team.”
Nicholas Darrett, of the Hardtimers, added, “It was a challenge. We are going to grow from it. We played a good team. We have to work hard for what we want and we will get everything we need.”
The Diego Brothers scored four runs in the first inning, then batted around in the third and racked up seven runs to extend the lead 11-0.
“We geared up for this,”said Sean “Captain” Morgan, of the Diego Brothers. “There were no holes in our defense today. The Hardtimers were competitive and positive; they might need to bring some of the old guys back to give them more pop at bat. The younger guys do show promise.”
The Diego Brothers put up four runs in the fourth, fifth and eighth, while scoring three in the sixth and ninth.
The Hardtimers managedto score one in the fourth and seventh, two in the sixth and three in the eight.
“We have to communicate more,” said Hardtimers assistant coach John “Ya Yah” Parrett. “We kept fighting to the end. It’s plenty of positives we can take from this game.”
Dan White, Hardtimers Head Coach and sponsor added, “This is a teachable moment; we need to fine-tune some things. This is not brain surgery; it’s just a game. We will get our chemistry and rhythm together.”
The Diego Brothers have been waiting for this day since the game was cancelled due to the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak last year.
“We come to be a service tothese guys,” said Alika Von Tempsky, of the Diego Brothers. “We all have things we need to overcome and fear is one of them – the fear of success or fear of failure. You got to keep telling yourself, I can face everything and recover.”
The May 13 game brought lessons and frustration.
“This is where the rubber meets the road,” said Hardtimer Jaun Arballo. “This is where you are tested. If you can’t handle frustration on the field, you won’t be able to handle it on the streets. We will unify and form one mind.”
Diego Brothers Head Coach Phil Martino concluded, “We hope we set the bar for something they can strive to. We care about everyone here; everybody matters to us.”
