The boys baseball team currently stands with a 10-7 record in the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division.
The team has significantly improved since last year’s 14-13 season. Last year, the team ranked 547 in California, but since then have propelled to 442.
The Dons began the season with a hot start, reaching a 6-1 record. However, the second half of the season took an unfavorable turn, as they hit a 1-6 skid from Mar. 18 to Apr. 5.
“The slump we’ve been in the last three weeks is not a physical thing,” says head coach Lenny Souza. “The team needs to stay positive mentally … I think that [they are] poised enough to make a good run.”
After last year’s 3-11 record that, against all odds, morphed into 14-13, the team feels confident in one another.
Despite being in a slump, junior Elliot Biagini, a player on varsity the team for the past two years says, “This year is [a tight] group of guys that we’ve had the past two years. We’re the closest family you could think of.”
Coach Souza states that in order to get the team back into full swing and back into the winning mentality they need to believe in themselves. “They just need to be reminded of how good they are,” he explains. “They didn’t get off to a great start for no reason. You have to give them confidence.”
The team’s confidence comes from its performance at the plate — a characteristic unfamiliar to the program over recent history. “[That] hasn’t been the case the past few years,” says Souza.
The Dons plan to take on the final month of their season with confidence in pursuit of the Central Coast Section Playoffs, and their Apr. 15 win over George Washington proved to be a vital step in that process.
The game started with George Washington taking a 3-0 lead that held through the third inning, but after that, the red and black scored eight unanswered runs.
With the bases loaded from several walks, sophomore third baseman Camron Grant hit a grand slam into left field. Grant rounded the bases and brought in all three baserunners, putting the Dons in the lead, 4-3.
Later in the 5th inning, Grant had another powerful hit, into right field and brought in the players on second and third base, bumping the score to 7-3.
Junior second baseman Jason Hui, says “Our strategies when entering the game were to make sure we had effective defense behind our pitcher. We’ve bounced back from our losing streak with this win mainly because our hitting has gotten much better.”
The Dons had an outstanding offensive game which allowed them to jump back into the swing of things and become a threat again.
Hui continues by saying, “This was a non-league game so we were playing for points that will go toward CCS.”
The Dons will host South San Francisco on Apr. 25 before taking on Menlo on Apr. 27.
