Eagles look for success after wild season 

With the spring season approaching, students prepare for the change of campus sports. One of these teams is the varsity baseball squad. After winning the Division VI Valley Championship, the team looks to repeat this year.

Last year, the Eagles season resembled a roller coaster ride, beginning the season with an eight-game losing streak. Subsequently, they went on to win eight of their next nine games. They finished off the regular season with another eight-game losing streak.

The Eagles entered the Central Section Division VI tournament with the seventh seed. The team played their best baseball when it mattered the most, beating 10th seed Orosi HS in the first round, 2nd seed Lindsay HS in the second round, 3rd seed Parlier HS in the semifinal and 1st seed Sierra HS in the valley championship game.

This year, the team is almost the same as most of the players from last season were sophomores. They did lose couple of players, including senior Jorge Castro. Varsity baseball head coach Noah Heinz hopes for the same success from last year and aims to develop a new pitcher like Castro.

“I am really excited for this year’s squad after the successes we had last year,” Heinz said. “This team has a lot of experience all over the field, most of the players are returning except for a couple. It will be hard to replace Jorge who was a four-year starter and pitcher for this team. Luckily we have a similar pitcher like him in his younger brother Christian who is a sophomore and he will be a key part of this year’s team. We like challenges like this. Sam Cross, Aaron LaCroix and Christian will battle out for the number one pitching spot.”

Three years varsity player Ronnie Peterson, ‘19, aims to lead this team to another championship. He also wants to help the younger players with hitting and fielding.

“My expectations for this year are the same as last year,” Peterson said. “I want to play to the best of my ability and help the other players get better and win another championship. One thing I always look forward to is helping the younger players. I want to teach what I know about the game from a players perspective.”

The baseball team practices every day after school from 3:15 – 5 p.m. If you are interested, contact coach Heinz.

For more baseball articles, check out Varsity baseball team wins first Valley Championship. For more on athletics, read Retired MLB pitcher assists campus baseball program. 

This author can be reached via twitter @JohnMonke and via email: John Monke.