Kevin Peyton / Roundup
With the start of the baseball season just a couple of months away, new head baseball coach John Bushart is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“We’re excited,” said Bushart of the upcoming season. “I think this is one of the more talented teams we have had in quite a few years. It is a very sophomore-oriented team, so there is a lot of positive leadership going on.”
Bushart is entering his first season as head coach, filling the void left by former head coach Joe Arnold. Bushart has been a part of the baseball program at Pierce since 1998, working as a pitching and assistant coach.
“Our starting rotation has been the biggest positive of the fall,” Bushart said.
Pitchers Carlos Gonzalez and Nick Rodarte had a combined record of 14-2 last season for the Brahmas.
“They are going to head the staff this year,” Bushart said of Rodarte and Gonzalez. “Those guys were outstanding in the fall. (They are) good leaders, good team guys…those two guys give us a great chance to win pretty much every day of the week.”
Bushart also credits shortstop Chris Ornelas with having a great fall.
The Brahmas are coming off of a 22-20 season in ’09, falling short of the playoffs by a few games.
“Defensively I don’t think we were very good,” Bushart said of last season’s team. “We gave a lot of games away due to errors. That’s been our biggest emphasis here in practice…to put a half-hour to 45 minutes of defensive execution in and try to get that turned around in the right direction.”
Key departures from last year’s team include outfielders Sean Spear and Jason Barmasse, along with third baseman Cole McCune.
The Brahmas’ season opens with the Bakersfield tournament taking place Feb. 4 – 6, during which they will take on Long Beach City College, Irvine Valley College and College of Sequoias.
The home opener for the Brahmas takes place Feb. 11. The team will take on Santa Ana College at Kelly Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Attendance to Pierce baseball home games is free of charge.
