With a new head coach and a young roster, some
might be tempted to think that the Valley Center varsity baseball
team is going to have a rebuilding year.
But head coach Cliff Bernard has high expectations for what
he says is a promising team.
“We’re very pleased with the turnout this year,
and with the tremendous work ethic that these guys have shown,”
he says. “We have a new coach, a new team, and a new attitude.
We have to be relentless, make the routine plays, get on base
and win every pitch. The guys are starting to get it, starting
to buy into it, and we’re really starting to come together
as a team.”
After losing ten seniors to graduation, the Jaguars will look
to a solid, mixed group of experienced and young players to
carry the team this season.
Senior team captain Jeff Allen will anchor the defense at shortstop,
while fellow senior Patrick Preston will see the majority of
time as the team’s catcher. Sophomores will make up a
big part of the infield, including first baseman Ryan Bracken,
a big power hitter, along with Austin Burke, a left-handed hitter
at second base, and Tom Aguilar, who is still recovering from
a broken kneecap suffered in his first winter ball game. Also
seeing time in the infield will be seniors Colton Campbell at
second and Garrett Crispi behind the plate.
In the outfield, senior Stanton Upson will play centerfield
and the Jaguars will rely on his speed both on defense and on
the basepaths this season. In left, juniors Shonta Chaloux and
Jack Armstrong will both see time, while in right, the Jags
will be able to platoon Eric Brothers, Brandon Dendy and Julian
Lavigne to maximize the matchups at the plate.
On the mound, Coach Bernard is excited about Brothers as the
number one starter, but still has some question marks about
the rest of the rotation.
“We’ve got a great one in Brothers,” he says.
“He throws ninety and he’s on everybody’s
radar. He could end up being one of the best to ever come out
of Valley Center. Behind him, I’d say Jeff Allen is our
number two, and he’s solid, and we’ll have Cody
Bugleman and Colton Campbell pitching as well. Four or five
of these guys have pitched before, but we just don’t know
exactly what to expect.”
Overall, Bernard says that the Jaguars have set their sights
high and will focus on the fundamentals to get where they want
to go.
“A lot of these guys came over from football, and having
coached with Rob [Gilster] for a number of years, there’s
a reason why the football team is so successful,” he says.
“They’re organized, they’re disciplined, and
they’re focused. We want to have that same approach, to
do what it takes to win, and we’re establishing that same
mentality here.
“We want to be league champs, we want to be CIF champs,
and we’ll settle for nothing less.”
