WATSONVILLE — Given what the Monte Vista Christian Mustangs lost after the end of last season, head coach Case Rigby and Co. are impressively composed through the first handful of games this season.
An NCAA Division I player gone? No worries.
The team’s best hitter, leader and athlete no longer around? That’s OK.
Two pitchers penciled in as starters also elsewhere? We’ll be fine without them.
Despite the turnover, M.V.C. feels great about its chances to compete in the Monterey Bay League Gabilan division.
The Mustangs start only two seniors, outfielder Garret Laine and pitcher/infielder Jacob Beardsley, but the nine juniors and two sophomores on the squad have stepped up nicely.
Rigby, now in his second season, said that was expected.
“The challenge of course is just being young,” Rigby said. “They’ll do perfectly fine, and the nice part is they don’t give up… Don’t count us out of anything.”
M.V.C. dropped its league opener, 9-5, against Monterey High on Tuesday, but the Mustangs figure to be in the mix in the always tough MBL-Gabilan division.
The area’s three other local squads, Watsonville High, Pajaro Valley High and North Monterey County High, all compete in the MBL-Pacific division and have all looked improved from a year ago.
Watsonville returns its top two pitchers and its best hitter from a team that finished tied for second last season. The Wildcatz are also in their first year under head coach Leroy Dozal, who took over for longtime coach James Gomez.
Pajaro Valley hopes to continue its steady improvement under second-year head coach Matt Manfre with more than a handful of players back from 2017.
N.M.C., now in the second season with Alex Rivera as the head coach, has plans of being in the thick of the league title race come mid-April.
MBL-Pacific division action started up on Wednesday.
M.V.C. continues its league season today at Sollecito Park in a rematch against Monterey.
“One loss, 9-5, I mean, it’s not horrible and it’s just one game,” Laine said. “There’s room for improvement. We’ll put this behind us.”
Laine, a 6-foot, 185-pound outfielder who runs like a deer and can also play catcher, has stepped in as one of M.V.C.’s vocal leaders this season. Beardsley, who can also play second, third or shortstop when not on the mound, has helped bridge the gap from last year’s departures, too.
Junior pitcher/shortstop Ian Koenig is the Mustangs’ top starting tosser this season, and has also taken on some of the leadership responsibilities.
“The older guys are doing what they’re suppose to do,” Rigby said. “They’re stepping up and taking charge right now.”
M.V.C. last year finished fifth in the MBL-Gabilan division, and advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs for the second straight season. But the Mustangs lost pitcher/shortstop Dylan McPhillips and slugger Jackson Collins to graduation.
McPhillips is seeing significant time as a freshman at Division I Sacramento State, and Collins is doing the same at Division II Biola University.
The Mustangs are also without two pitchers who were slated to be starters at the beginning of the year: junior David Eichhorn and senior Lucas Schmidt.
Eichhorn transferred out to Aptos High, and Schmidt, who will play hoops at Division I North Dakota next season, decided to not return to the baseball diamond.
At the moment, M.V.C. is also without the services of junior pitcher and infielder Matthew Sanders because of a hamstring injury.
Juniors Marshall Silva and Thomas Avila will work from the bullpen.
“We’ve got guys who are working their way back in,” Rigby said. “We’ll continue to get better and better.”
San Benito High returns as the MBL-Gabilan division defending champion and CCS Open Division runner-up, but Palma High is also a contender with star pitcher Sam Stoutenborough returning from a team that finished second last season and won the title the year before.
Christopher High, Salinas High and Gilroy High will also compete in the league, and neither will be taken lightly.
“Everybody’s got a team,” Rigby said. “Everybody’s got pitchers and everyone can hit. It’ll be a dogfight as usual.”
In the MBL-Pacific division, Alisal High is back after winning the title last season. North Salinas High, the champion in 2016, has also looked strong through the early season. Alvarez High, which last year tied with Watsonville for second, has also impressed through the preseason.
With senior Gio Gonzalez and junior Maximilian Ramirez III as its two starting pitchers, Watsonville is expected to have a solid chance of winning the league crown and returning to the CCS playoffs.
The league’s Pitcher of the Year last season, Gonzalez posted a ridiculous 0.68 earned run average over 51 and 2/3 innings of MBL-Pacific division action in 2017. He also twirled a pair of no-hitters and struck out 60 batters.
Ramirez was impressive in his own right last season, notching a 5-1 record in league starts.
The Wildcatz also have corner infielder Ryan Rivera back after a monster season. A 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, Rivera led the team in hits (34), was second in RBIs (18) and third in doubles (6) last season. He was an MBL-Pacific division First Team selection.
Rivera and Gonzalez lead a five-player senior class, which also includes outfielder James Flota, middle infielder Clayton Galassi and first baseman Jason Garza.
Across town at Pajaro Valley, the Grizzlies have hopes of nixing a lengthy league-game losing streak that dates back to 2010.
Seniors Daivian Quintana, Victor Vela, Andres Yanez-Garcia, Danny Lopez and Angel Chavez lead a group of 17 that opened up the season with an encouraging 11-1 win over Marina High.
Quintana, an MBL-Pacific division First Team selection last season, is Manfre’s top pitcher and hitter. He will also play shortstop.
Junior catcher Rocky Ramirez and freshman pitcher Jarred Martinez have also played well for the Grizzlies, who start their league slate on Monday at N.M.C. at 4 p.m.
