Baseball: Return of aces looks to turn team around

The lack of two starting pitchers has contributed to the Falcons’ losing their first seven league games of the season. But with the return of those two pitchers, the team hopes to start winning some games soon.

The Falcons struggled early in the season, losing their first seven league games. A major factor of their slow start is the absence of senior pitcher Dillan Pak and junior pitcher Will Dennis, both important leaders on the team. Now that these two pitchers are back, the Falcons hope to improve
their record.

Dennis transferred over from Woodside Priory at the beginning of this year. Because he played in a game there, CCS forced Dennis to sit out the first 10 games of the season. Dennis played his first game as a Falcon on March 28, as the starting pitcher against Homestead. Pak returned on March 16, pitching against Homestead as well.

The Falcons lost a recent game at home against Homestead, 5-3. Even with the team’s boosted morale from the debut of starting pitcher Dennis, the Falcons fell short.

Due to the late start of key players, they are behind their opponents in areas such as teamwork. However with the return of team leaders, the Falcons should gain more chemistry.

Earlier in the season, Horn had to fill in the void left by the veteran pitchers.

“At first I was pretty nervous,” Horn said. “I’m not as experienced as those guys in pitching.”

Horn agreed that his relative lack of varsity experience was a challenge to overcome.

“When you pitch more often, you are used to tough situations,” said Horn. “You know how to get out of them and feel comfortable. When I get into them, I get stressed and nervous.”

Not only did Horn have experience against him, but he also had to pitch for much longer durations without the full pitching staff.

“I used to only pitch one or two innings,” Horn said. “It’s been hard getting used to pitching five plus
innings.”

Going 0-7 in the first half of league, the team did not have the outstanding start they were hoping to get. The Falcons have lost twice to Wilcox, 12-4 and 13-0, Homestead, 9-5 and 5-3, and Los Gatos, 4-2 and 4-1.

In their most recent game against Cupertino, the Falcons had a lead going into the fifth inning, but were unable able to hold it, losing 13-9. However, with their team back at full strength, the Falcons are expecting an improvement in their record.

The addition of a new coaching staff this year will also help make the changes needed to turn the team around. The new head coach, Adam Varteressian, also coaches for Kali Baseball, a local youth organization.

“A major difference between this year and last year is the more experienced coaching,“ Pak said.
Varteressian is making a few necessary changes from last season.

“Defense is a key emphasis this year,” Horn said. “It’s really important, especially as a pitcher. It makes me more confident when I know I can trust my teammates to make plays.”

The series against Palo Alto will be two important games for the Falcons. The opener will take place at home on April 27, and the second game will be at Palo Alto on April 29.

The team is hoping to make up for the shaky start with a strong finish to the season.

“As long as we clean up our defense and stay aggressive at the plate, we can compete with any team in our league,” Horn said.