Outfielder Austin O’Such didn’t recognize his teammates a month ago, and now, the Kitsap BlueJackets have already connected through their first 10 games.

The Bremerton collegiate baseball team has one returning player – pitcher Richie Mascheri.

But for O’Such, and the rest of the BlueJackets, it doesn’t matter that they were all studying in different cities six weeks ago. The team has chemistry, O’Such said, and a first-place showing in the West Division of the West Coast League.

“It’s like we’ve been playing together since we were 12,” said O’Such, a student from the University of San Francisco.

The BlueJackets, who extended their winning streak to seven games after beating Bellingham 6-2 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Monday, are 8-2 this season, their best start in club history. The team finished 24-23 last year.

Despite starting this season on a high note, head coach Matt Acker said that some players were starting to suffer from fatigue because an incomplete roster meant shorter time to rest.

The BlueJackets fixed the issue, adding seven players Monday. A total of three pitchers and four position players joined Kitsap to fill the roster.

Players from colleges on a semester schedule arrive earlier, while those studying on a quarter basis start playing two weeks into the regular season, Acker added.

Acker will try to have a more concrete roster as new players join this week. For now, Kitsap’s coach is happy the relief arrived in time.

“We were starting to get banged up,” Acker said. “If the new guys can come in and build that chemistry right away, then you’re able to keep this thing going.”

Mascheri, a student from Western Illinois University, said he’s looking forward to bonding with more teammates this week. He joked about meeting new members of the club Monday.

“It’s great except we’ve got to learn all their names again,” he said. “The team chemistry is great and that’s key to what we’re doing.”

Kitsap is not relying solely on home runs or stellar pitching to make a postseason run. Players trust each other after playing just two weeks of baseball, and the team doesn’t care how it wins games.

Mascheri believes the team doesn’t have a traditional lineup with consistent power hitters, but it doesn’t matter as long as they find a way to win, he said.

“We don’t have that go-to guy or big hitter,” he said. “But when we need a clutch hit, sacrifice bunt or solid inning from our pitchers, we’re getting it right now.”

During their win Monday, the BlueJackets scored two runs off a bunt in the fourth inning.

Mascheri summed up the young squad of collegiate players as “scrappy.”

“We’re doing whatever it takes to win,” he added. “You just need to do the right things at the right times and if we keep it up, we’ll be alright this season.”

Acker credits the early success to his pitching staff, which has allowed four runs in the last three games. Mascheri earned the win Monday, improving to 3-0.

“With our starters going deep into games, and our bullpen shutting teams down, that’s been huge for us,” Acker said. “We’re clicking on all cylinders.”

O’Such said that he also doesn’t mind working the pitch count or hitting a sacrifice fly ball to the outfield if it means winning more games.

“Any way we can get a win is important and it doesn’t really matter how we do it,” he added.

Fellow outfielder Claude Johnson, of Arkansas State University, echoed Mascheri when he said the team has used its teamwork and scrappy attitude to win eight of its first 10 contests.

However, Johnson added that the BlueJackets can’t get overconfident, even with a five-game lead in the win column over second-place Bend. The BlueJackets will play six straight road games next week from June 21-26 against Klamath Falls and Bend.

“Now is not the time to get complacent,” Johnson said. “We can’t be content with what we have right now.”