On March 3, Aragon’s baseball team (3-0 overall)* faced off against Mission High School (2-6 overall, 1-2 Academic Division One)*, winning 8-0.
The Dons controlled the game from the beginning. The batters were able to find openings in the Mission fielders exploiting those weaknesses ,to take bases and score runs. Aragon’s offense also took advantage of Mission’s loose defense to steal bases. During the game, junior second baseman and shortstop Jace Jeremiah and junior second baseman and shortstop Ty Barrango stole two bases each. Despite the good running, the Dons were not able to capitalize when the bases were loaded.
“I felt like we kind of left some money on the table,” said head coach Lenny Souza. “Even with the 8-0, not that it needs to be 12-0, but I feel like there were a couple of times we had the bases loaded and we only got one run.”
On the defensive side, Aragon’s pitching was extremely effective. Sophomore pitcher and outfielder Patrick Mori got three out of the Dons’ six strikeouts. The Dons’ fielding game was also efficient and organized. In the fifth inning, a grounder was hit to Barrango, who found senior first baseman Matthew Mukai and threw for the first out of the inning. In the next bat, the ball was hit to Mori in the outfield, and the ball was thrown to Mukai for another out.
The Don’s attribute their success to a consistent practice and pregame routine as well as a next game mindset.
“We take every game the same way,” said sophomore outfielder and pitcher Jake Willerup. “We practice the same way. And then the day before the game we do our infield outfield pregame drill. Just taking one game at a time.”
Individual success is just as important on the team. Everyone needs to do their part for the team to function smoothly and win their games.
“[I helped the team win by] not letting anything go by me and being a wall back there and catching everything that I can,” said senior catcher, first baseman and third baseman Eduardo Jimenez.
Last year, the Dons were able to reach the first round of the Central Coast Section and place first in the Ocean League. Now, they’ve been moved to the Bay Division.
“It’s a lot more competition, a lot more competitive,” said senior pitcher Peter Ingargiola. “Teams are going to make a lot less mistakes than they did in Ocean, and we’re just trying to click together and start winning a lot more.”
In the two divisions of the Peninsula Athletic League, the teams in the Bay Division are much more experienced than those in the Ocean Division.
The team excelled in teamwork last year and this year they have a lot of chemistry, due to knowing each other prior to the season.
“Our team is more bonded since most of us have been playing with each other since we were eight,” Jeremiah said. “We all grew up together, and we just like playing with each other.”
Another significant trait the team had was the leadership within their team, executed by their defense and older players.
“We had two really good pitchers that kind of carried through,” Ingargiola said. “And we had our seniors, who did a really good job of pulling through the team and a really good job with the leadership they had.”
The Dons ran practices that were focused and trained them to work at game speed. Consistency is important to the team and will serve them well if they continue to practice as efficiently as last year.
The team has several points of focus this year to ensure another successful season.
“Throwing the ball around right, pitching’s a new aspect to it — throwing strikes, our hitters hitting a lot, and defensively not making any mistakes,” Ingargiola said. “At the end of the day, when you don’t make mistakes, you have more of a chance at winning.”
The only thing that held the team back last year was the poor weather conditions that came along with the spring season.
“I feel like we played to our max capability and we could have used more luck in the postseason,” Souza said. “Rain really affected us in a negative way.”
Younger players from junior varsity last year have now moved up to replace the seniors. Due to the new members on the team, they’re now in need of more team bonding in order to be as balanced as last year.
“We have some sophomores on our team, too, that are really good players, and are really fun to be around,” Ingargiola said. “I think we have a lot of really talented people, but we haven’t really figured out how to put it all together. But I think once we learn how to get everything working, and when we’re all [in] the same mindset, we’ll all be working together really well.”
The Dons’ next game is against Mills (1-5 overall)* on March 13.
*records as of March 9
