Huskies to Open Baseball Season Friday
by Mario Villegas
(thumbnail courtesy of elacbaseball IG)
The weather recently has been cold and rainy, which means? It's time for baseball!
ELAC plays Glendale at 5 p.m. tomorrow at home in the 2024 baseball season opener for both teams. The Huskies will also host West Hills Coalinga the next day Saturday at noon.
Head coach Alec Adame is now in his third season at the helm of the program. "My assistant coaches and I love this team," said Coach Adame. "We attracted some really talented players because of the success we had last year. We have potential, but we'll have to prove ourselves."
Pitching Staff
The Huskies were 20-25 overall last year when their season ended in the state's Super Regional playoffs. They played a tough nonconference schedule and were 15-9 in the highly-competitive South Coast Conference. The Pack also made state history by being the first team ever to knock off a #1 seed in the first round of the 3C2A Playoffs, beating top-seeded Palomar on the road. The Huskies won last season behind the stellar pitching of Paco Dominguez, David Morales and Bobby Banuelos, a trio of sophomores who ranked statistically among the top pitchers in the state.
Adame, who was the Huskies pitching coach before taking over as head coach, will have to rebuild the pitching staff in order for the Huskies to have another successful season. He feels they have the arms to do it. "We have some quality pitchers who look good, but it's going to be tough because we've got big shoes to fill," says Coach.
Hard-throwing sophomore Nathan Mertens will be ELAC's opening-night starter, and returning sophomore Lino Zepeda will pitch Saturday's game against West Hills. Zepeda was selected to pitch in the sophomore all-star showcase last fall. Another sophomore, Hector Valdez - who has a 4-pitch mix and throws in the high 80s - will also be in the starting rotation. Freshman Ricardo Villegas is a promising newcomer who will begin the season working out of the bullpen as a closer. The plan is to eventually work his way into the starting rotation. Villegas, a Covina Northview High School product, turned down several offers from 4-year colleges and came to ELAC, where he intends to improve his skills and eventually transfer to an NCAA Division I program.
Adame has been impressed with the 6' 5" hurler's work ethic and mental toughness. "He's one of our leaders and he has a mound presence that is second to none," said Coach, noting that Villegas' fast ball has been clocked as high as 91 miles per hour.
East LA's pitching staff will be throwing to catcher Carlos Morales, who had an impressive fall season. The freshman has a good arm and has done well offensively.
Positional Players
The Huskies' coaching staff believes this year's team has good overall speed and are strong defensively. "We can run and we play good defense," Adame said. "With our speed, we'll be able to play the game some more this season by stealing bases, sacrificing runners and manufacture runs more often."
They have several players who were shortstops on their high school teams who have adjusted well to playing new infield and outfield positions. "We play good defense and we cover a lot of ground," declares Coach.
Freshman Evan Chavez, who played shortstop at St. John Bosco High, has looked impressive at third base and is also an offensive threat. Starting shortstop Matias Nolasco is another freshman with good skills and is also an offensive threat. Sophomore Fabian Dominguez plays stellar defense and can play anywhere on the field, but will be the starting second baseman, and will be in the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
In the outfield, versatile Amaris Harrison is a former shortstop playing in left. The speedy sophomore and left-handed batter, who is one of the team captains, will bat leadoff. "He can play anywhere on the field and he volunteered to move from the infield to left field," states Adame. "He's an absolute team player, who makes me hope and feel that this team has something special when you have players like that."
Felipe DeAlba will play center field. The freshman from Pico Rivera's El Rancho High is a good fielder with a strong arm and who can hit for power. He played for the San Francisco Giants' Southern California scout team. J.R. Kully, a versatile 6' 4" freshman from La Canada Flintridge Prep, will play right field. Kully is strong-armed, runs well and can hit for power.
Designated Hitter Beno Olmeda had an outstanding freshman season last year, with his .387 batting average ranked among the state's best. Olmeda also represented ELAC at the fall showcase.
Schedule Outlook
Adame says Glendale will be a good early test for the Huskies. The Vaqueros were 31-13 last season and won the Western State Conference South Division. "I have a lot of respect for (Glendale) Coach Alex Kocol, who always has his team ready to play. We're going to be in for another battle with them just like it is every year we play them. And that's why we schedule them."
ELAC will play most of the same non-conference opponents they played last season. "We schedule the teams we do to get us ready for conference and the playoffs," Adame acknowledged.