Yoakum baseball:Zaruba plays in 14 games in freshman year

McLennan College baseball player and Yoakum graduate Connor Zaruba pitched in over a dozen games during his 2023 freshman year of baseball.
Zaruba’s first action came in the second game of a home doubleheader to Navarro College on Jan. 29, a 7-1 McLennan win. He picked up his first win with 3 2/3 innings pitched, one hit, .27 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) and five strikeouts.
Zaruba next played n a 5-2 loss at home Feb. 4 against Andrew College, pitching 1 1/3 innings, two hits, one run, one earned run, 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, one walk, two strikeouts and one home run.
He got the win against Western Texas College, 2-1, Feb. 11 at home in the second game of a doubleheader that day, pitching two innings, two hits, one run, one earned run, 4.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and two strikeouts.
Zaruba tossed one inning, three hits, three runs, two earned runs, 18.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, one walk and three strikeouts in an 8-5 home loss to Blinn College on Feb. 18.
His next game came at home  against Tyler Junior College Feb. 27, a 10-9 McLennan win and he pitched 1/3 innings, one hit and 3.00 WHIP.
Zaruba’s next pitching action came in the second game of a road doubleheader March 15 against Weatherford College, a 2-1 loss for McLennan. He took the loss on the mound, 1 2/3 innings pitched, two hits, one run, one earned run, 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, one walk and two strikeouts.
On March 18, McLennan won 8-0 in game two of a home doubleheader against Weatherford with Zaruba pitching  one inning and one strikeout.
His next game was the second game of a home doubleheader against Vernon College on March 25; McLennan took a 9-0 win with Zaruba earning the win with 3 2/3 innings pitched, one hit, .27 WHIP and five strikeouts.
On April 1, in the opening game of a a doubleheader at home against North Central Texas College, Zaruba started and took the win with five innings, one hit, .20 WHIP and five strikeouts in a 13-5 McLennan victory.
He started the second game of a home doubleheader on April 8 against Temple College, earning the win with 4 1/3 innings pitched, four hits, one run, one earned run, 2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, one walk and five strikeouts as McLennan won 9-1.
Zaruba started game two of a road doubleheader against Cisco College April 15, taking the 10-8 loss with three innings pitched, seven hits, six runs, three earned runs, 9.0 ERA, 3.0 WHIP, two walks and three strikeouts.
His next game was against Grayson College in game two of a road doubleheader on April 22 as McLennan lost 8-5. Zaruba started and worked five innings, six hits, three runs, three earned runs, 5.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and three strikeouts.
He pitched three innings of the second game of a home doubleheader against Ranger College on April 29, picking up the win as McLennan rolled to a 10-0 victory. He ceded two hits, .67 WHIP and seven strikeouts.
Zaruba’s final action came in a 7-1 win in the opening game of a doubleheader at Hill College on May 6. He got a save, four innings pitched, one hit, .25 WHIP and four strikeouts.
In total, Zaruba appeared in 14 games, started four games, had a 6-2 pitching record, one save, 39 total innings pitched, an ERA of 2.77 and 1.00 WHIP.
McLennan posted a 40-18 record and went 22-10 in conference games.