On May 9, the Aragon varsity baseball team (9-5 in Peninsula Athletic League) faced the Mills Vikings (2-12 in PAL) in their last league matchup of the year, cruising to a 28-0 blowout victory. The Dons were fresh off of a tight game against Mills on May 7, which was a two-to-one game until the sixth inning. The Dons scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth of that game. They won game one of the two-game series 8-2, although the score wasn’t an indication of how close the game was.
In the second game of the two-game series, Aragon junior Josh Jacobs dueled Mills senior JP Zlatunich on the mound. The game started off close, with a 0-0 score after the first inning. The Dons erupted in the top of the second inning. They put up 19 runs in the second inning, with three home runs including a grand slam by junior Aditya Shankar.
Head coach Don Hahn was impressed by the squad’s offensive output.
“It shows that the offensive potential is there,” Hahn said. “The three home runs prove it.”
All three home runs came from juniors, showcasing the youth that the Dons have. A junior leads the Dons in each of these major offensive statistical categories: batting average, home runs, hits and runs batted in.
The Dons threw a combined shutout led by Jacobs and continued by senior pitchers Eric Laguna and Cyrus Hayden-Gephart. Hayden-Gephart made his first appearance of the year, and struck out three batters in the bottom of the seventh to close the game. The final score was 28-0, with the Dons winning in a dominant fashion.
The Dons’ offensive performance was quite remarkable considering the circumstances they faced. The game was a must-win game to stay in contention for a Central Coast Section playoff bid. A win Thursday combined with a loss by the Menlo Knights (10-4 in PAL) would have given the Dons an automatic bid. Although the Menlo game didn’t pan out in favor of the Dons, their performance against Mills showcased the team’s togetherness and willingness to fight till the end for each other.
“Our offensive performance proves our will to keep playing into the postseason, which is a testament to the closeness of our team,” said senior catcher Josh Geller. “We all just want one more shot to play together as a team.”
The Dons only hope was to vie for an elusive at-large CCS bid, awarded by the CCS selection committee. Selections were based on a complex point-based system. The chances for the Dons were slim, and ultimately they didn’t receive a bid. If they did qualify for playoffs, however, the Dons looked like they could be primed for a successful run.
“We are playing better now than we were three to four weeks ago,” Hahn said. “I [had looked] forward to getting in and competing.”
Over the course of the season the Dons faced challenges. With no home field for practices or games, the Dons lacked stability and consistency.
“It felt like we were always scrambling around,” Laguna said. “We never had a home to settle down in. Every game was an away game, which made it tough to pull out some of the closer league games.”
Despite these challenges the Dons were able to achieve a 9-5 league record and a 15-11 record overall. A few key losses impacted the Dons ability to qualify for an at-large bid. These close losses against beatable teams have left the Dons with a small sense of disappointment at the end of the season.
The team has a lot to look back on and be proud of despite missing the playoffs, and a lot to look forward to next season. With two returning starters at pitcher and tons of young offensive production, the Dons hope to come back with a strong next season.
