A pair of one-run losses to one of the top teams in the state in late January showed head coach Tevin Cadola what his 2023 Eagle baseball team is capable of.
Then the Eagles split a doubleheader against Napa Valley on February 3rd, winning the opener 4-2 before taking another one-run loss, 5-4.
"Our pitching has been solid. I'm happy with what our arms have done," said the Eagles' first-year head coach.
They opened their season with loses to a strong Skyline team, 13-3 and 16-3, but Cadola said it was a testament to his players' focus that they fought back at San Mateo and nearly beat one of the top 10 teams in the state.
They rallied to score 3 runs and take a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning on Sunday, January 29th. But San Mateo tied it in the bottom of the ninth and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11th.
Starting pitcher Callan Vreim went 6 innings and allowed just 1 earned run on 5 hits with 3 walks and a strikeout.
The Eagles had just 3 hits but walked 8 times. Two of their runs were unearned. Centerfielder Aidan Hermansen had a triple, walked, and stole a base. Second baseman Taiyo Kurosawa singled, walked twice and scored a run. Kekai Ferguson, playing right field, walked and scored a run. Leftfielder Ryelen Samson scored; first baseman Dante Bravo and shortstop Rylan Taylor both walked twice.
Vreim had a home run and a double, walked, and scored a run in a 7-6 loss at San Mateo the following day. The Eagles had 7 hits, one each by Hermansen, rightfielder Caughlin Shults, shortstop Dylan Battye, catcher Kadin Bolanos, and Kurosawa.
Bolanos drove in two runs and Battye drove in one. Shults walked twice and scored twice. Hermansen scored twice.
San Mateo scored 4 of its runs in the second inning off starting pitcher Geoffrey Allen, who only allowed one more run in 6 1/3 innings and finished with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk. Coleton Padilla followed on the mound, striking out 2, walking 1 and allowing 1 hit and no runs in 1 1/3 innings.
The Eagles led 6-5 before San Mateo scored twice with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The February 3rd games against Napa Valley were moved to Laney College in Oakland and shortened to 7 innings because of rain. In game one, the Eagles scored twice in the top of the seventh to up their lead to 4-1 before winning it 4-2.
Kurosawa, batting leadoff, singled, tripled, drove in two and scored a run. Hermansen doubled and drove in two. Battye, Samson, and pinch runner Ashton Durler all scored a run.
Winning pitcher Carson Jones pitched all 7 innings for the Eagles, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3.
The Eagles rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the second game with 1 run in the fourth and 3 in the fifth. They lost 5-4 when Napa Valley scored in the bottom of the seventh.
Pitcher Dante Bravo had 7 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks.
The Eagles' offense was mostly provided from the top four spots in their lineup. Shults, batting fourth, doubled, singled, and drove in two. Vreim, the number three hitter, doubled, scored twice, and drove in a run. Third baseman Devyn Engdahl, batting second, singled twice and scored a run. Kurosawa doubled and scored.
Kurosawa and Hermansen are two freshmen showing their potential in the early going. Cadola said Kurosawa has earned the job at second base by hitting well from both sides of the plate and playing hard every day. Hermansen "is probably the fastest guy on the team" and "a franchise-type of player," according to the coach.
Cadola said he wants the Eagles to "treat every game like it's game seven of the world series," the way they did against San Mateo. "If we play like that, we'll win a lot of games."
He sees an opportunity for some of those wins when the Eagles play a pair of doubleheaders at Mendocino this Friday and Saturday.
By Steve Gerace