“Baseball is designed to break your heart,” wrote Bart Giamatti.
Southwestern College knows the feeling.
A promising season ended on the doorstep of playoffs when the Jaguars stumbled to a 13-4 loss against Cuesta College.
That the Jags made it that far was almost miraculous, considering a dreadful 0-6 start in conference. Assistant Coach Michael Butterfield said the team learned painful lessons.
“We got our teeth kicked in at the beginning because mistakes were made and the other team capitalized on them,” he said.
A sharp turnaround started when the defense caught up to the offense, said head coach Jay Martel. Sophomores led the way, he said.
“We had sophomores in the right spots and really good freshmen who stepped up,” he said.
Jaguars pitching was solid, Martel said.
“The pitching staff carried us most of the year,” he said. “I knew they were good, but they did exceptionally well.”
Freshman Ricky Yoguigua and sophomores Brandon Weed and Dylan Wannamaker provided leadership on the mound. They compiled a 3.33 ERA and recorded 233 strikeouts.
Weed, a graduate of Grossmont High School, missed 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. He led the staff with 61 strikeouts.
“Last season was my first season back from surgery and it did not go the way I planned,” he said. “I worked hard over the offseason and I started to put things together this season.”
Weed praised the relief corps.
“The bullpen did a really good job behind me and the rest of the starters,” he said. “It might have struggled at times, but when we needed a shut down inning, someone was always there to pick us up.”
Yoquigua made the transition from first base to the mound. In his 11 game starts and two relief appearances he notched, 38 sickouts, had a 3.23 ERA and a .407 batting average.
Martel said the team struggled in the clutch.
“We went through a slump and could not get key hits,” he said. “We had the team to do it, but when we needed those hits, we couldn’t get them.”
Butterfield said the team was erratic.
“We scored almost at will out of conference, but in conference we had to work our butts off to score,” he said. “We called out players who were slacking and made a conscious effort to work and play harder.”
Returners Kenny Olhauser and Adam Lopez led by example. Olhauser hit .333 with 11 stolen bases and an OBP of .445. Lopez had six homers, 14 doubles and 35 RBI.
Lopez, Weed, Yoquigua and Justin Meza were named First Team Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. Wannamaker, Valdez, Martinez, Carlino and outfielder Jared Uyeda earned honorable mentions.
About half the team is returning and Martel said he is hopeful for next season.
“We have had a pretty successful program here for 25 years with only had one losing season,” he said. “Next year we’re in the same boat. We have freshmen returning in the right spots.”
Martel said his next freshman class looks promising.
“Recruiting is going good.” said. “I think the players from the past have set a standard for winning. Winning is a habit.”
