With no JV team and a huge roster, varsity baseball team focuses on skill building for underclassmen

Junior Aiden Chen swings bat towards incoming ball.

Junior Aiden Chen leads the team with his strong pitching.

Head Coach: Vinny Augustine

Last year’s record: 12-12

Recap: Though the team started off with a losing streak last year, they sharpened their pitching to make CCS, losing in the first around.

Key Matchups: Fremont, Milpitas, Santa Clara

Star Players: juniors shortstop Doug Bettinger, pitcher Aiden Chen, first baseman Ben Haug, shortstop Samanyu Ram and senior first base Abhinav Kiran

Key losses to graduation: pitcher and shortstop, Lucas Dennis and outfielder Kian Teymouri

Division: El Camino

Prognosis:

On Feb. 29 vs. Monta Vista, junior pitcher Aiden Chen tossed a no-hitter in a 6-0 win, striking out a remarkable 17 batters. The lefthander also hit a double and a triple. Junior first base Ben Huang later hit a home run. Chen closed the show by pitching nine strikes in a row to retire the side — a so-called immaculate inning.

For his performance, voters selected Chen as Athlete of the Week by the Bay Area News Group.

After the victory against the Matadors, the team gained a much needed boost in team morale.

To prepare for their season, the Falcons played two scrimmages against Oak Grove and Harbor High and two preseason games against Los Gatos and Lincoln. The season officially began on Feb. 29, and the team record is at 2-2 as of March 15, with a 6-0 win against Monta Vista on Feb. 29, a 3-2 win against Lynbrook on March 5, a 8-0 loss March 7 against Milpitas and a 6-4 win March 12 against Fremont.

This year, the team includes 21 players on varsity, but there is no JV team. Compared to last year, with 10 JV players and 13 varsity players, this larger varsity team ensures there are enough subs during a game. Chen noted that on-and-off injuries are common throughout the season, so the larger roster ensures they will always be able to field players. Still, he said, “Although there are some freshmen with promising futures, they are not varsity ready right now.”

In fact, more than half of the players this season are inexperienced underclassmen. With only one senior and seven juniors, the team is mainly focusing on improving skill through drills such as batting practice or hitting off a tee.

“A lot of the freshmen have never played before, haven’t played in a long time or are not really familiar with the game,” Chen said. “With a lack of experience comes a lack of skill, so we work on more basic techniques rather than focusing on advanced ones as a team.”

With Ram and freshman center fielder/third baseman Eli Safine suffering injuries early in the season, the team is relying on some of these freshmen to step up and are hopeful for success in the games to come.