The numbers are in.<\/p>\n
And for the Kentridge High baseball team, those numbers are looking pretty good this spring. In a league loaded with talent from top to bottom, no team returns as many all-league players as the Chargers.<\/p>\n
As such, reason for excitement \u2013 and a reason to believe a return to the postseason is imminent \u2013 remains legitimate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked (in the offseason) about what we need to do to finish the deal off,\u201d explained Kentridge coach John Flanigan. \u201cWhat we need to do is to be focused to play every pitch of every game. We need to come out and make sure that everybody here is on the same page and has the same goals. It’s not so much of a baseball skill set of a thing, but a mental approach.”<\/p>\n
If a mental approach is what Kentridge needs, the pieces are certainly in place this spring. The Chargers, which squeaked into the SPSL playoffs a year ago with an 8-8 league record, graduated just one position player from last season\u2019s team (outfielder Ben Mora).<\/p>\n
The players dotting the roster this season is essentially a who\u2019s who of all-league players, including Shayne Mathews (pitcher), Stetson Olson (shortstop), Craig Rasmussen (outfield), Andrew Martin (DH) to go along with honorable mention selections Matt Jackson (pitcher), Ian Anderson (first base), Cory Hamada (second base), Jason Didis (outfield) and Hayden Njos (outfield\/pitcher).<\/p>\n
Jackson, a righthander, was among the league leaders last year in fewest hits allowed per seven innings (6.48) while Olson, who will play next season at Washington State, delivered a sweltering .462 batting average. Meanwhile, Didis was among the league leaders in runs scored (20) and Mathews ranked fifth in the league in ERA (2.94).<\/p>\n
Needless to say, optimism is in abundance for the Chargers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to be in the playoffs, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s out of the question that we win the league,\u201d Flanigan said.<\/p>\n
The Chargers haven\u2019t won a North Division title since 2003, which also was the last time they qualified for state. With this year\u2019s talent \u2013 and numbers \u2013 expectations remain high.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re very excited,\u201d Flanigan said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough with the league we\u2019re in, but we could make some noise.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CHARGERS AT A GLANCE<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 COACH:<\/b> John Flanigan, 10th year (105-82 overall record).<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST YEAR’S RECORD:<\/b> 8-8 in league (fifth), 8-10 overall.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST STATE APPEARANCE:<\/b> 2003.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP RETURNERS:<\/b> Stetson Olson, senior, shortstop; Hayden Njos, senior, outfielder\/pitcher; Cory Hamada, senior, second base; Craig Rasmussen, senior, outfielder; Ian Anderson, senior, first base; Jason Didis, senior, outfield; Jordan Miguel, senior, infielder; Mario Sposare, senior, catcher; Matt Jackson, senior, pitcher; Shayne Mathews, senior, pitcher.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP NEWCOMERS:<\/b> Ian Buckles, junior, pitcher; Axl Snure, junior, outfielder.<\/p>\n
\u2022 OUTLOOK:<\/b> The Chargers return a loaded bunch and have all the reason in the world to be optimistic heading into the season. Kentridge graduated just one starting position player and has enough firepower and depth on the mound to contend for the SPSL North crown. The North, possibly more so than in past years, is loaded top to bottom. That said, Kentridge should challenge for one of the top three spots in league and has as good as shot as most at winning the title.<\/p>\n
\u2022 STAT OF NOTE:<\/b> Kentridge hit .384 as a team last year, third in the North.<\/p>\n
\u2022 KR PLAYERS WHO’VE BEEN DRAFTED (YEAR\/ROUND\/ORGANIZATION):<\/b> David Patton, 2004, 12th, Colorado; Shane Cronin, 1996, 32nd, San Diego; Ian Harrington, 2007, 23rd, Arizona; Dan Hubbs, 1993, 16th, L.A. Dodgers; Mason Tobin, 2007, 16th, L.A. Angels; Keith Matheny, 1970, 45th, New York Yankees.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
KENTRIDGE IN LEAGUE 2002-2009<\/b><\/p>\n
2009: 8-8 (fifth)<\/p>\n
2008: 4-9 (sixth)<\/p>\n
2007: 10-4 (second)<\/p>\n
2006: 11-7 (four-way tie for third)<\/p>\n
2005: 7-9 (t-sixth)<\/p>\n
2004: 9-7 (five-way tie for second)<\/p>\n
2003: 12-4 (first)<\/p>\n
2002: 10-6 (third)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The numbers are in.
\nAnd for the Kentridge High baseball team, those numbers are looking pretty good this spring. In a league loaded with talent from top to bottom, no team returns as many all-league players as the Chargers.
\nAs such, reason for excitement \u2013 and a reason to believe a return to the postseason is imminent \u2013 remains legitimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":6199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6198"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}