Baseball Notebook: St. Francis Gets Must Needed Boost

Considering the circumstances surrounding the start of the St. Francis baseball team's season, a 3-2 record after five games was pretty good.

The Golden Knights played in the uber-tough Eastern Tournament and dropped their first game of the season to perennial power Valencia (now ranked No. 3 in CIF-Southern Section’s Division 1) by nine runs. They started six sophomores or juniors throughout the tournament, and youthful mistakes ensued.

But despite those factors, the Golden Knights rebounded to take three of their next four games, and then they beat Notre Dame in their Mission League opener Tuesday night 6-4.

“We beat a good Notre Dame team,"  St. Francis coach Brian Esquival said. "They were 4-1 coming into tonight.”

The Golden Knights were sparked by the season debut of junior shortstop David Olmedo-Barrera.

Barrera broke a small bone in his wrist during the preseason — an injury that was thought to have sidelined him for the year — but the fracture was not as severe as initially feared. Barrera had his cast removed last week and practiced with the Golden Knights on Monday.

Barrera's return gave the Golden Knights (4-2) the dangerous bat to shore up the middle of their lineup. Barrera hit .500 last year as a third baseman and earned second team All-Mission League honors.

“He’s our 3-hitter,” Esquival said prior to Tuesday’s game. “If there’s one thing that we lacked so far is a little bit of offense from our 3-4-5 guys. We’re leaving too many guys on base. If he does what he did last year, driving guys in, that would be a big boost for our offense.”

It didn't take long for Barrera to make an impact against Notre Dame. In the first inning, he had an RBI single off Notre Dame starter Matt Lathuras to jump start a four-run inning.

Esquival said he plans to bring Barrera along slowly, and he’ll give him the day off on Wednesday.

“We’re still going to baby him a little bit,” Esquival said.

The Golden Knights can ill afford another injury to the anchor of their lineup. Without Barrera, the Golden Knights averaged four runs a game.

But Esquival said he was encouraged with how his team battled in the games following the opener, which is a good sign for when St. Francis gets into the heart of its Mission League schedule.

“We’ve played five really good teams,” Esquival said. “With the exception from the first game, they’ve all been really competitive games.”

“We’re a young team this year,” he added. “We started six sophomores or juniors on the field for the first five games. They’ve played well. We’re still making a lot of mistakes. … But all in all, not bad.” 

Wildcats And Falcons to Play Two Wednesday

Monrovia coach Dave Moore began the season wondering what he’d get from a pitching staff that relied primarily on juniors and sophomores. But through five games, he’s found out that those young arms are up to the challenge.

“I think I’d be crazy to say we weren’t pleased with the way our pitching has held up,” Moore said. “I think our pitching has done pretty good — just the whole staff. The kids have just come out and thrown strikes and done what needs to be done.”

Monrovia’s quartet of Kevin Shue, Chris Burkholder, Carl Daniels and Gabe Duran has allowed just a combined seven earned runs in 33 innings.

The solid pitching has been a necessity as the Wildcats adapt to life with the new BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution) bats instituted by the CIF-Southern Section. The ball does not launch off the new bats with the same velocity as previous models, and the Orange County Register reported this March that the “new BBCOR bats have a drop of between 10-15 percent in ball-travel distance.”

“It’s not easy with those bats,” Moore said. “We’re all battling the same problems as coaches.”

Moore said that the in order to make solid contact on the ball a player must connect with the bat’s “sweet spot.” He also said that the days of cheap singles and bloopers off the end of the bat are likely over.

The Wildcats have one more test before opening Rio Hondo League play next week. Monrovia travels to Crescenta Valley for a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m.