5 minute read
Preview of 2012 spring sports
Lorrie Reyes, Eduardo Razo, Coburn Palmer / Roundup
Baseball
Although it's beginning to look a lot like winter, the Pierce College baseball team has been training for spring since the start of fall.
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 games left in the season, the Brahmas let the conference title slip through their fingers.
"This year our goal is to win the conference," said Bushart. "We've been close the last two years."
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.
Tennis
With the New Year nearly approaching the Pierce College Tennis Team has begun with their preparations on the high expectations they have for the upcoming season.
With returning sophomores and incoming freshman there are expectations that the team should win the conference and anything less than that would be a disappointing season according to Head Coach Rajeev Datt.
“We are going to own this conference, “said Datt. “It will be fun to play Ventura College since they will be our only competition and it will be fun to squash them,” said Datt.
High expectations for the season aren’t only felt by coach Datt, but returning starter Moises Cardenas, 21, and incoming freshman Richard Catabona, 19, have echoed the high expectations the team has set for the upcoming season.
“I expect us to win state and anything less then that will be a disappointment,” said Cardenas. “We want to be number one in the state … it will be tough, but it’s due able,” said Catabona.
The team has taken steps to improve from last season like working out five days a week to improve on the teams conditioning according to volunteer coach Long Dao.
“We are going to be strong… if we don’t beat them off of talent we will beat them with fitness," said Dao.
Softball
Even without their coaches present on the field some of the softball team players have begun with their precautions for their upcoming season.
The Brahmas are looking to improve from last season's 5-33 record, but will have to do so without starting pitcher Heather Krahling who won all the Brahmas games last season.
With their third leading hitter no longer on the team it will be up to the returning starters and incoming freshmen to pick up some of the offense.
"One of the things we are really trying to improve on is to be more dedicated and to put in a lot more effort," said Leon. "For me personally I want to improve on my hitting and fielding this season," Leon added.
Another one of these returning starters trying to help improve the team from last season is 21-year-old outfielder Tiffany Quezada.
"As a team, we are only trying to get better," said Quezada. "I am also trying to get more stronger than I was last season," Quezada added.
A new batch of freshmen are coming to the team to take their positions and one of these new freshmen trying to make the team is 20-year-old outfielder Ariana Padilla.
"I am just trying to do my best and make the team," said Padilla, who did not play any high school softball.
"Even though I haven't played in a really long time I still have what it takes and I know I have room to improve," said Padilla.
Swim
While the rest of the college is busy going on vacation this winter the Brahmas swim team will be in the pool practicing as hard as ever.
“Swimming is an endurance sport,” said Head Coach Fred Shaw.” “The more you do it and the harder you push yourself, the better you’ll be.”
The swimming season starts in Feb. and continues until May.
“Everybody’s been training really hard,” said Matthew Cobelli, a returning sophmore, before slipping into the pool to start his workout.
Last year was the first time during Shaw’s tenure at Pierce that the swim team brought home a conference championship.
The major change going into the 2012 swim season will be the addition of a second head coach. Judy Terhar, formerly the assistant coach, will assume her new role as head coach as Shaw begins to slowly retire, he said.
Shaw will looking to beat Ventura College, the swim team’s strongest opponent.
“There are 20 people as good or better than me on that team,” said Jordan Bernstein.
The women’s team, which had four returning swimmers last season, will look to their two returning swimmers this season, including last year’s Western State Conference Swimmer of the Year, Samantha Elam, to lend experience to the teams newest additions.
"Many of them don't have enough experience," said Shaw.
The men's team, who placed fourth in the conference last year, will also be trying to repeat last year's performance and will be looking to Jordan Bernstein and Blair Kroetz to lead the way.
"I wanna break the 100 meter freestyle for men's," said Bernstein.
