Hartnell baseball

 During an 11-game non-conference losing streak, little went right for Hartnell, who gave up 10 or more runs in five of those losses. It was outscored by seven or more runs seven times.
 Even after ending the skid, the Panthers dropped their next three games to fall to 2-14, limping into conference play.
 Resiliency might not be a strong enough word to describe Hartnell's roster. Conference play signaled a new season, a fresh start.
 And the Panthers have seized the opportunity. Closing non-conference with a win has spearheaded a five-game winning streak -- including a 4-0 start in the Coast Conference.
 Hartnell is averaging 9.1 runs during its winning streak, while the pitching staff has gotten big outs in crucial moments, as evident by a 6-5 win last Tuesday over Canada.
 North Salinas grad Tim Burkhardt's bat has gotten hot as he's hitting over .400 for the Panthers while Greenfield alum JJ Rodriguez is hitting .316 with a pair of homers in conference play.
 Sophomore and former Pacific Grove product Kacee Takasaki is hitting .320 with 12 runs batted in, one behind Rodriguez, while Palma prodigy Nick Gardoni is hitting .327.
 It doesn't hurt having an ace on the mound in North Salinas graduate Joseph Gutierrez, who sports a 1.97 earned run average, with 51 strikeouts in 47 innings of work.
 Ricardo Torres has pitched well, as he has had a hand in five of the teams seven wins with three wins and a pair of saves for Hartnell.