Baseball Preview: La Cañada looking for repeat success
With a good amount of fanfare and expectation, Matt Whisenant returned to his alma mater to take the coaching reins at La Cañada High a season ago.
The former Major League Baseball pitcher began his days looking to turn the tides of La Cañadafortune and it paid immediate dividends with a Rio Hondo League title, the program’s first since 2013, and an ascent to the quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs.
Returners from that squad are few though they played crucial roles a season again and the question has now transferred from whether the Spartans can turn around their program to whether they can maintain their rediscovered success.
“I think it’s what drives all of us,” Whisenant said. “It’s good for the younger guys because all they know is high expectations. We have aspirations of playing for a league title and making a deep run in the playoffs.”
La Cañada will look to maintain its success, while a downsized roster at Flintridge Prep will vie for a playoff return and to challenge for the Prep League title and St. Francis, following a turnaround season of its own, will aim for continued progress.
All-Area standouts Matthew Sox, Conner Schulz and Tristan Kalnins have moved on, with Whisenant counting only four Spartans who recorded significant playing time coming back.
“We got younger,” said Whisenant, the reigning All-Area Baseball Coach of the Year, who piloted his team to a sterling 23-6 record and a perfect run through league. “You’ve got to figure out ways to fill those spots.”
All-Area selections Connor Buchanan (.343 batting average, 1.73 earned-run average) is back and will hit in the heart of the order and be the No. 2 pitcher, while the No. 1 will be another All-Area honoree, Ryan Graves (7-1 record, 1.17 ERA).
Pitching will no doubt be the strength, while scoring will be a work in progress.
“We’re going to have to figure out a way to create runs,” Whisenant said of the Spartans needing to lean more toward manufacturing runs.
Senior shortstop Jonatan Shaklan and junior center fielder Tai Walton are the other Spartans coming back with valuable experience.
Buchanan and senior second baseman Andrew Nomoto, who returns from a year off, will likely take up the heart of the order, while other key contributors are likely to be sophomore third baseman/outfielder Ian Tinkham and sophomore catcher Jason McCubbin.
Another added obstacle for the Spartans is that they were moved all the way up to Division III in realignment from Division V.
Should St. Francis make its way to the playoffs, it too would be in Division III and that achievement would more than assure the Golden Knights are continuing on the right track.
In the first season for coach Aaron Dorlarque, the Golden Knights went 9-20 with a 6-12 mark in the Mission League, the most wins for the program in league since 2011.
Maintaining that progress and building a winning mantra are the goals at hand.
“When you step into a program that I’ll say has lacked consistency, it’s the hardest job for a coach to change the culture,” said Dorlarque, who’s the fifth St. Francis skipper since the 2011 season. “But I thought last year the leadership of the team, I think [All-Area selection] Brandon Lewis, really helped the coaching staff.”
So the question that looms most might very well be leadership over talent.
“We have a lot of talent this year,” Dorlarque said. “If we get good leadership from our seniors and play consistently, we should do well.”
Senior pitcher and clean-up hitter Aaron Treloar will play a huge role for the Golden Knights, as will senior shortstop and leadoff hitter Christian Muro. Others who will likely be significant contributors are senior pitcher Hayden Byrnes, senior pitcher Chris Stamos, sophomore pitcher and middle-of-the-lineup batter Tanner Tomko and freshman left-handed pitcher Jack Duncan.
“If we pitch like we’re capable, we should be in every game,” Dorlarque said.
Flintridge Prep was dealt the double-whammy of rebuilding after a mass talent graduation and making a huge move up from Division VI, where it had won a division championship in 2015, to Division IV, where it lost in the first round to Arroyo Grande, 10-5.
The Rebels went 14-8-1 and finished third in the Prep League a season ago and will look to improve despite the loss of All-Area mainstays Danny Chiarodit and Kendall Kikkawa.
Another major problem for Prep will be its roster size, as skipper Guillermo Gonzalez will have just 11 players as the program tries to maintain its junior varsity team, which will also carry only 11 players.
“The good thing is we have eight guys who can pitch,” Gonzalez said.
And two of those guys are seniors Nick Davis and Aidan Schraeder, who Gonzalez expects to have excellent seasons.
“This year we really have two great arms and we think they can lead us to big things,” said Gonzalez, whose team is now back down in Division V.
Despite the low numbers, Gonzalez’ expectations remain the same.
“That’s always our goal, win league and make a deep playoff run,” he said.
Another key returner is junior shortstop Max Rosenfeld, who will hit in the third spot.
As for the league favorite, Gonzalez believes perennial power Pasadena Poly will be a huge favorite.
“It’s Poly,” he said. “They have everybody coming back. They should be loaded. But if our guys come out and play their best, we should be able to give them a run for their money.”
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
