By Rick Assad
Spring is almost here and there is a jump in baseball players’ steps and the three local high school teams – Burroughs, Burbank and Providence – are ready to battle for their respective league championships.
Burroughs is coming off a season in which it went 20-8 and 10-4 in the Pacific League for third place.
The Bears fell 2-0 in a contest to Ganesha during a CIF Southern Section Division IV opening-round game.
Burroughs lost to graduation several key members and they are Kyle Smith, who played catcher and pitched, Kenny Montgomery, who also pitched and Chase Robinson, who was extremely versatile and could literally play anywhere on the field.
Matt Magallon is the Burroughs head coach and expects to have a strong season and has a number of seniors to help lead the way.
They include Jack Smith at catcher, Thomas Martin, Devin Whittekiend at pitcher, Logan Drossin, Ryan Walsh, Nate Sepulveda, Theo Gara, Jack Guest, Mason Fournier, Zack Guevara and Nathan Bartolo.
The juniors are Elliott Ross at shortstop, Slater Mersola at second base/third base, Jake Rauenswinder at center field, Logan Manolakis, Teddy Severse and Kayson Montgomery at pitcher.
On the team is sophomore Connor Cox and freshman Brady Powers.
Magallon, who won a CIF Southern Section Division V title in 2022, believes the team will make a run for the league crown.
“This group has earned the right to be excited about the season,” he said. “They’ve worked hard every day, pushed each other to improve and built great chemistry as a team. We’re looking forward to seeing that hard work pay off.”
A season ago, Burbank went 8-11 and carved out a 6-8 league mark for sixth place.
Bob Hart has been the Burbank head coach for two decades and wants his club to get better each and every day.
The Bulldogs saw several players graduate and they include Robert Snyder, who pitched and played first base and Colby Bette, who pitched and played catcher.
“Our focus is on getting better each day. We don’t really concern ourselves with the rest of the league,” he stated. “We try to take one game at a time. Playing good clean baseball is always our primary goal.”
Hart talked about who he thinks will pace the team.
“Carter, Casey, Ryan and Tomas will be leading the way but Jeremy’s injury is a big hit to our program. Our approach is always the same,” he explained. “Next man up. He will still be a huge part of our team but it won’t be on the field. It’s a big loss for us, but the fight goes on and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Burbank has a number of returning players and many are seniors but one key member, Jeremy Lee, who plays first base and is also a pitcher, is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
Other seniors are Sebastian Aguirre who is an outfielder and pitcher, Tomas Angel at first base and center field, Brandon Hernandez in right field, Ryland Le Clair at first base and pitcher, Andru Machado at second base and the outfield and Julian Recinos at shortstop and pitcher.
The juniors are Grady Gibbs in right field and Tanner Kramer at catcher and the outfield.
The rest of the juniors are Casey Peters at first base and pitcher, Anthony Sanchez at shortstop and pitcher, Carter Williamson at catcher, the infield and pitcher and Ezekiel Canto at first base, the infield and the outfield.
Last season, Providence had a 9-12 record and went 3-5 in the Prep League for fourth place and were led by Adrian Contreras, who graduated and played the infield and also pitched.
This season the Pioneers have ten seniors and should lend leadership on the field and off and the team will compete in the Liberty League.
The upperclassmen are Luc Rode at shortstop and second base, Nicholas Delger at second base, Asa Langlois at shortstop and second base, Jason Carillo at center field and right field, Hudson West at right field and designated hitter, Arlo Wicke at left field, Dylan Sarkisian at third base and Roman Mastandrea.
Senior Kiran Kostecka and junior Cade Mackenzie will be starting pitchers and sophomore Nathaniel Palmer will play catcher.
Junior J.J. DiBianca will play at shortstop and second base and there are several freshmen and they include Nathan Mendoza at catcher, Liam Simpson, Ben Oremland at first base and pitcher and Arem Mardirosian at second base.
Mando Contreras is Providence’s head coach and likes his club.
“This year I expect our seniors to take the lead on and off the field. We have 10 of them which is the most I’ve ever had at Providence,” he said. “My guys that have been here for four years understand what we do and what we try to do every year. I’m excited for them to lead.”
Contreras believes in his squad and feels confident in what they will be able to achieve.
“We don’t have any expectations. We do have team goals to win. We have values to be good baseball people and challenges to keep us motivated,” he said. “We preach the acronym ACE. It’s about the type of attitude we bring every day, what kind of concentration we can control on and off the field, and bring all the effort we have, all the time.”
