PREP BASEBALL ‘94: EMPIRE LEAGUE

El Dorado

1993 RECORDS:

OVERALL: 14-12

LEAGUE: 8-7

COACH: Steve Gullotti

RECORD AT SCHOOL: 231-106

RETURNING STARTERS YR. POS. B-T Trent Cuevas Jr. Inf R-R Benito Flores Sr. P/OF L-L Spencer Frost Sr. C/OF R-R Don Jamieson Jr. P R-R Jeff Moore Sr. P/1B R-L Glenn Posein Sr. P R-R Ryan Reyes Sr. OF L-R Jerry Weitzman Sr. P/OF R-R

TOP RETURNER YR. POS. B-T Dave Perry Sr. P/Inf R-R

TOP NEWCOMERS YR. POS. B-T Chris Beck Jr. P/Inf R-R Mike Castillo So. Inf L-R Jim Cox Jr. P/Inf R-R Eric LaGraffe Jr. Inf R-R Craig Patterson So. C R-R

OUTLOOK

The Golden Hawks missed the playoffs last season, a rarity. They had qualified in five of the previous six seasons. El Dorado should return this season. The Golden Hawks return four players who were first-team all-league selections--Cuevas, Flores, Moore and Reyes. Flores was 8-3 last season and is one of the top pitchers in the county. Reyes is an outstanding leadoff hitter. The infield should be solid, with Cuevas and Moore returning. The team has a good mixture of experience. A key will be how well Patterson develops at catcher. Because of injuries last season, the Golden Hawks went through three catchers, which hampered their pitching and allowed other teams to run wild. Patterson is talented, but he’s a sophomore. Mike Castillo is another sophomore the Golden Hawks will depend on heavily. It might be a bit much to expect El Dorado to win the league title, but the playoffs are reachable.