Pitching success in early season
Junior Eric Winchester pitches the ball during a game against Walnut, in which the Brahmas lost 6-1.
March 16, 2016
Pitching and hitting its way to an 6-2 record to start off its preseason, the Diamond Bar High School boys baseball team looks to improve upon last year’s performance in the Palomares League.
The team has started off their season well, with only two losses coming from a 7-2 defeat against Don Lugo High School and a 6-1 loss against Walnut High School. Led by new head coach Jon Hurst, this year’s roster will see the addition of ten first time varsity members after losing nine seniors. According to Hurst, the Brahmas will be more team-oriented in their approach to games with no one member dominating.
“We are team that is going to rely on everyone. We have a lot of talented guys but our league is full of teams that have one or two guys that have been playing baseball for a long time and probably play professional baseball. We have to find different ways to beat them and so we have to be a little bit more strategic,” Hurst said.
Based off the first few games of the season, Hurst sees the team as more of a small ball club that executes well in terms of getting on base and running the bases. He finds the players very coachable and sees Keola Viloria, who is the team’s lead off hitter and center fielder, as one of the leaders of the team.
“He is incredibly fast. He is very good hitter he is a very talented baseball player and he is also a very good pitcher and so we are going to rely on him very heavily,” Hurst said.
Last year, the Brahmas placed last in the Palomares League despite starting well in the preseason. The team’s main competition this year will come from teams like South Hills, Glendora, and Bonita.
“Our major goal for this season is that we take our scrappiness into league games being known as the underdog and come out ready to play and fight,” Viloria said.
Formerly a professional baseball player, Hurst plans on using his experience to change the culture of the team so that members have more of a championship-mentality. While he states that the team has a very high potential based on talent, it is the change in mindset that will take the group one step further during the season.
“There’s not really a championship feel around the program yet. I feel like many of them are confident but there are programs that are successful and the programs that are successful, they know they are winners. That is what I am trying to develop right now,” Hurst said.
Despite this, Hurst hopes the players go into each game enjoying the sport and having fun.
“While we are serious and we take what we do out there very seriously, I want them to know that I want them to have fun out there while they are doing it,” Hurst said.
