In a failed attempt to erase a sting of 12 consecutive losses, the Comets (0-13 overall) were bludgeoned by Hartnell College 21-3 in an eight-inning mercy rule shortened contest Friday at the Baseball Field.

Comet coach Brian Guinn and Panther coach Travis Babin met at home plate in between the eighth and ninth innings and agreed to forgo the final inning.

This after the Hartnell (7-7 overall) had thoroughly dominated the CCC in the final two innings of play and the home team’s focus was noticeably dwindling.

Guinn said he thinks that some players are not as locked in as they should be at every moment which is critical in the game of baseball.

“It (losing) has to do with some players who are not as focused as they should be. That affects us defensively,” Guinn said.

The Comets began Bay Valley Conference play in the first game of a three-game series against Los Medanos College Tuesday (after presstime) at 2:30 p.m. at the Baseball Field, if the weather cooperates.

Against Hartnell, trailing 6-2 going into the sixth inning, the Comets found themselves within striking distance of the Panthers after left fielder Mychael Jamison scored a run from first base on an errant throw by the pitcher an inning earlier.

The jolt of energy from the run was enough to fuel the Comets to two quick outs in the top half of the sixth inning, but their positive play eventually stalled out.

The Comets committed an avalanche of errors and defensive positioning miscues, which allowed the Panthers to break open the game with eight runs.

The scoring output sank all feelings of positivity for the home team down the drain.

Jamison said, “We need to communicate more and the errors are a result of that lack of communication. There is no reason why we should have two outs on the board and not get out of that inning.”

The Comets have found themselves in this predicament for most of this season and have played host to the majority of that erratic play with a ridiculous run differential at home of minus 59 runs.

This is a familiar predicament for the team which is feeling mounting pressure going into the BVC season.

Center fielder Darius Foster said each position group is focusing hard on the task at hand of putting together quality at-bats in light of being limited to indoor activity.

The team has been unable to get on-field practice with the seemingly never-ending winter storms hitting the area in the month of February.

Foster said, “I know that we as an outfield group have certain areas we like to work on together and it’s been unfortunate that we haven’t been able to practice outside lately.”

The Comets have been limited to taking indoor batting practice in the Gym Annex Building and it’s been a glaring deficiency for them on the field in live competition.

Jamison said using the other facilities to practice isn’t really an excuse, but it’s something that the team has been forced to juggle along with a changing schedule in the preseason.

“We haven’t been able to establish the rhythm we would like at all this season, but we have an opportunity with conference play beginning next week to have a clean slate,” Jamison said.