With the baseball season almost halfway over, Aragon’s team has a record of 9-6 overall and 5-3 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division*.
Even with the effects of the coronavirus, the team was only slightly impacted. They have been able to practice and play how they normally would, with a few minor exceptions of wearing masks and social distancing in the dugout.
However, some sports seasons were pushed back into the spring. Because of this, practices sometimes lacked the depth in attendance which limited the team on occasion.
“For a while we had quite a few guys playing football, but in any other year, football would have been over months ago,” said Head Coach Lenny Souza. “Our practices sometimes have an insufficient amount of people, and we sometimes are a little bit more limited in what we can do because people are finishing other sports.”
Even though some players might not have been able to attend all the practices, the team still has a regular season roster.
Souza hopes to build off of the team’s potential for a strong postseason.
“My goal is really to find out what we are capable of as a team and push the limits of that,” Souza said.
In the team’s non-league game on May 15, the Dons beat Mills (3-15 overall, 1-7 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division)* 8-0. It was also senior night, and the team celebrated and took pictures with their families before the game.
Senior Daniel Geller was the starting pitcher for this occasion. According to Geller, he had falsely tested positive for the coronavirus and had to sit out for two weeks.
“It’s just good to be back,” Geller said. “I had to sit out for two weeks while everyone was playing, but it’s good to be back.”
In the bottom of the first inning, Mills walked the first two batters, and senior shortstop and second baseman Jace Jeremiah hit a line-drive double to left-center to bat both of them in. He then proceeded to steal third base and scored home after the throw to third went wild.
At the end of the first inning, Aragon was in the lead.
In the bottom of the second, the Dons scored once as senior shortstop and second baseman Ty Barrango slammed a double to right field. The team maintained their lead as Geller continued to shut out the opposing team.
Soon after, Mills switched pitchers. The replacement pitcher for Mills walked three batters until the bases were loaded. Senior Daren Randolph and Barrango both batted one in to make the score 6-0.
But at the top of the sixth inning, the game changed. A batter for Mills tipped the ball backwards, into the umpire’s face. The umpire was knocked back instantly, fell unconscious and was unable to continue. Thirty minutes after paramedics arrived, the plate umpire was taken off the field on a stretcher. Fortunately, the coaches from Mills were former firemen and were able to provide support while the umpire was on the ground.
The teams decided to keep playing and have the field umpire call the balls and strikes from behind the mound.
Geller was replaced due to the time spent waiting for the umpire to recover. Overall it was still an effective performance from him though, as he shut out Mills for almost six full innings. Junior Patrick Mori replaced Geller as pitcher and struck out Mills’ last batter.
In the bottom of the sixth, Aragon scored two more runs to finish the inning.
To close off the game, Mori threw two strikeouts in a row and then ended it with a ground ball to the third baseman.
In the end, the team had a successful game as they added another win to their record.
“We did really well; we were a little thrown off because we played all of our seniors today, so it wasn’t our typical lineup,” Souza said. “They did a very good job, and I am happy with the win. All the seniors got to play, and it was a really positive experience for everybody.”
The team played well together and despite the delay during the sixth inning, the game went smoothly.
The Dons’ next game will be away against Capuchino (15-3 overall, 7-1 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division)* on May 21 at 4 p.m.
*Records as of May 17
