Although it’s beginning to look a lot like winter, the Pierce College baseball team has been training for spring since the start of the fall semester.
Once the holidays are over the baseball team will only have a month to get ready for their season opening tournament beginning Feb. 3, 2012.
“A lot of good things came out of the fall,” said head coach John Bushart. “There is still a lot of work to do but I think we are very close.”
The Brahmas and Bushart will try to bounce back after taking second place in the Western State Conference South last season.
With a two-game lead with four to games left in the season, the Brahmas let the conference title slip though their fingers.
“This year our goal is to win the conference,” said Bushart. “We’ve been close the last two years.”
In order for them to win conference, the Brahmas will have to overcome the loss of their number one and two starting pitchers, as well as their closer.
Returning pitcher David Carver, who threw 80 innings as a freshman, will be a key for stability on a young pitching staff.
“I think our pitching is going to come around,” said Bushart. “It’s a little inexperienced but they made some good strides this fall.”
Although they have lost key players they are returning all of the players up the middle, including catcher Alex Gonzalez, second baseman Fernando Gallegos, shortstop Matt Sanchez and center fielder Bobby Cortes.
“If you go right up the middle of the baseball diamond that’s where you want to be strongest defensively,” said Bushart. “Those guys should set a precedent for the younger guys.”
Gallegos, Sanchez, and Cortes all hit around .300 last season and will need to continue doing so to get the Brahmas to the playoffs this year.
“We have some talent that are freshman,” said Bushart.
That talent includes possible first baseman Nick Schmidt , Long Beach State transfer Derrick Sezma and freshman Kevin Torres.
For more information on the Pierce College baseball team visit: http://info.piercecollege.edu/departments/athletics/baseball.html
