After a successful season in which the varsity boys baseball team won the Prep League in decisive fashion, the Panthers victoriously began the CIF playoffs against Boron.
By BOBBY SAMUELS
Sports editor
After the loss of the varsity softball team in its opening CIF game, only the varsity baseball team remains in playoff competition. Storming through the regular season, the Panthers continued their dominance with a 12-1 victory over Boron in their opening CIF game. Senior A.J. Talt led the way with fourteen strikeouts in only six innings.
The Poly varsity baseball team had won the Prep League title for the past thirteen years. However, despite the proven success over the past decade and a half, the players were unsure about how the team would fare at the beginning of this season.
“Initially, I didn’t know what to expect, especially after losing Rob Rasmussen, Tim Feess and the other seniors to graduation last year,” explained sophomore shortstop Charlie Baxter. “Also, A.J. was injured at the beginning of the season, and we did not know how long he would be out.”
Junior first baseman Andrew Ellingsen agreed with Baxter: “We knew that we had a lot of talented baseball players, but because of last year’s strength of the senior class, few of them had the chance to show their potential on the field at the varsity level.”
In non-league play, the Panthers went 3-3, not indicating the path that the season would take. With the start of league play, however, fears quickly vanished. Since March 11, Poly has won 21 games in a row, easily winning league again.
“I think we surprised a lot of people with our success,” Talt claimed. “Going undefeated in league and winning 20 games is quite an accomplishment for any team.”
This impressive play would not have been possible without the influx of talent. “Andrew Ellingsen has done a great job,” said Talt. “And Charlie Baxter is one of the best shortstops we’ve had at Poly in a while, and he’s only a sophomore. We’ve also had two freshmen, Jordan Kutzer and Matt Saeta, take big roles. Saeta starts almost every game either at catcher or in center and Kutzer has done a phenomenal job as a pitcher and added some clutch hits.”
Talt himself is a large reason for the team’s success, with his play both on and off the field. As Ellingsen put it, “[Talt] has embraced the role of team captain and set the tone for the team.” Talt leads the team in slugging percentage, on base percentage, and RBIs. But Talt’s largest contribution has been on the mound; boasting a miniscule ERA of 0.55, Talt also leads the team in strikeouts with 80.
Baxter attributed Talt’s success to his work ethic, commenting, “After his injury, [Talt] worked incredibly hard to get back on the mound and has had a great season both pitching and playing first base.”
Others have had impressive seasons as well. Senior John Michael Pennington leads the team with eleven wins, with a 1.97 ERA and 71 strikeouts. At the plate, Pennington is also a large contributor, leading the Panthers with a .377 batting average. In addition to Pennington, senior Matt Meyerowitz has lead a successful 2008 campaign, leading the team with seven stolen bases while batting a strong .358.
After the conclusion of league play, the Panthers now turn their attention to CIF play. Because of their success in the Prep League, Poly was ranked fourth in Division VI, and after 21 wins in a row, the Panthers’ confidence shows. “The great thing about baseball is any team can beat another on any given day. It just depends on how the ball bounces,” commented Talt. “With that said, we can compete with any team in our division, but we have to take every game seriously. We are all extremely excited to see what we can do.”
Ellingsen echoed Talt’s optimism: “We have to show up and play our game against every team, but I think we have the talent to go all the way.”
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