In head coach John Downey’s words, it’s been an “up and down” season for the College of the Redwoods baseball team so far.

But the first-year head coach also believes his squad has the talent to finish strong and is confident they can put together a run over the next couple of months.

There certainly have been some bright spots for the team, which is 4-13 overall and 1-7 in the Golden Valley Conference, most notably the bat of sophomore Seth Grammer.

The former Eureka Logger is closing in on a program single-season record for most home runs and he leads the Golden Valley Conference with six on the season, which is twice as many as any other player.

Halfway through the campaign, Grammer now sits just two home runs away from tying the single-season school record of eight set by Blake Browning last spring.

“He’s inching closer to the single-season record,” Downey said of Grammer. “Ultimately he’s been consistent, and that’s what we’ve lacked (as a team), is consistency.”

Grammer is also batting a team-high .345 and has driven in a team-best 16 runs.

But he’s not the only Corsair impressing this season.

Former Arcata Tiger Miles Oliver also is enjoying a good season with the team on the mound, along with former Fortuna Husky Drew Franklin.

Oliver has three of the team’s four wins this year and has 29 strikeouts in 32 innings, with a record of 3-3 in seven starts.

“He’s been our ace,” Downey said of the lefty. “He’s been playing lights out in his games, him and Drew Franklin.”

Franklin has started two games and is 0-2, but he has not been getting the necessary run support.

“When he came in, we weren’t sure what we would get out of him,” Downey said of Franklin. “But he’s molded himself into a really good guy on the mound for us.”

Several other players have been making some noise at the plate, including sophomore Bode Joyner, who is batting .288, as well as Tristen Valenzuela (.286), Tyson Bragg (.282) and Justin Powell (.281), while Oscar Rudman is batting .234 and has 10 RBIs, which is second best on the team.

“Honestly, we’ve had some ups and downs, but the record doesn’t necessarily indicate where we’re at skill wise,” the head coach said. “It’s been tough, to say the least, but overall we’ve had some highs and some lows.”

With 16 games still scheduled, however, the new coach is hoping the Corsairs can turn things around over the second half of the season.

“I’m really confident in what these guys can do,” he said. “And I really still think there’s a fighting chance to do something special over the next couple of months.”

That hopefully begins against Siskiyous next week.

A scheduled three-game series for this weekend was postponed because of the weather and Downey is hopeful they can play early next week, even if they have to travel for the games.