Stephanie Martinez / The SWC Sun
ADJUSTING THE PITCH—Southwestern players said they are confident they can reach the playoffs despite erratic play.
Elijah Hernandez
To say the Southwestern College baseball team is streaky is like saying college students drink caffeine.
Maybe the baseball team needs a strong pot of coffee.
SWC won its first eight games and had people planning for the state playoffs. Then the Jaguars lost their next 10 in a row and had people predicting lots of Advil.
Currently 11-11, it would be fair to say the Jaguars’ balanced record has left the season in the balance. And that’s about all anyone can say.
Coach Jay Martel had dedicated the season to his mentor and friend Jerry Bartow, the Southwestern College coaching legend who died in September. Bartow may have been smiling as he looked down from Baseball Heaven…for a while at least.
“I coached with Bartow for a long time,” said Martel. “We built this program together. I want to keep that (winning) tradition going and keep developing local players.”
Martel, after acknowledging that baseball can be quirky, had no real explanation for the volcanic hot start turning glacier cold.
“We have played well (even in defeats), but I don’t think we played to our full potential,” he said. “When we started 8-0, we had a lot of things going our way.”
Injuries, the bane of greatness and killer of consistency, have crippled the Jaguars. Pitcher Ryan Smith said injuries have been a blow, but they cannot be an excuse.
“It’s been tough to keep our core group healthy,” he said. “But it’s always a next-man-up mentality. If anyone goes down, someone will be there to pick them up.”
A healthy work ethic remains intact, Smith insisted.
“I think we’re a great group,” he said. “We’re out here busting our butts every day. In practice, in games, we’re here six hours a day grinding. When we stay positive and pick each other up, our team chemistry is at its best.”
Pitcher Hunter Haase said the team needs to regain its sense of urgency.
“You’ve got to treat every game like it’s your last,” Hunter said. “You’re still starting at square one each game.”
Smith said a long season can come down to a game, an inning, or a play. Southwestern still has time to climb back into a playoff spot.
“We’ve definitely had games we feel like we should’ve won,” he said. “But that’s baseball. Sometimes things don’t go your way. We’ve won close games and lost close games. It comes down to who makes the plays. We’re right there in these games, we just have to come out on the better side of them.”
Haase agreed.
“We’ve got guys ready to go,” he said. “We’re still in a good spot.”
Despite the recent downswing Martel said the team’s focus remains.
“Our goal is to compete, win and make a run in the playoffs,” he said.
Smith agreed.
“We all want to make the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve got to finish top three in our division, so we’ve just got to keep pushing and win as many games as we can.”
Haase said he thinks the Jaguars can run the table.
“The goal is to win every single game from here on out,” he said. “We need to go undefeated the rest of the way.”
