Borchard Sets the Standard

Ten months ago, Joe Borchard was merely one of many talented teenage athletes in Ventura County. Today, his name is synonymous with high school sports success.

Borchard, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior at Camarillo High, is The Times’ Ventura County player of the year in baseball. Earlier this year, he received the same award in football.

Borchard led each team to a Marmonte League title, helped the Scorpions win a Southern Section football crown and must now decide between an athletic scholarship to Stanford or the chance t1864396908 “I don’t think you can ask for anything more than what I’ve experienced this year,” Borchard said. “It’s something to be proud of and grateful for.”

During his senior baseball season, Borchard, an outfielder and pitcher, batted .415 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in. On the mound he was 7-3 with a 3.42 earned run average.

“Coaching Joe was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Camarillo baseball Coach Scott Cline said. “He was a skinny kid who batted .310 as a sophomore and it’s been fun to watch him grow up as a man and a player.”

That growth has transported Borchard from near anonymity to widespread recognition.

“Everyone wants to get to know you and they enjoy things you do for them,” Borchard said. “They expect a certain standard from you too.”

Cline, a 1985 Camarillo graduate who led the Scorpions to league and Southern Section titles in football and a league title in baseball as a senior, said he challenged Borchard near the end of last season.

“I told him I wanted my son to grow up to be just like him but what had he done for the team?” Cline said. “I told him, ‘You have to put us on your back and make us win. If you start producing everyone will follow.’ ”

Borchard probably will play both sports if he attends Stanford. He was taken in the 20th round of baseball’s amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

No matter what his future holds, his senior season will be a standard to measure future standouts.

“I’d like people to remember me as a team player, not just for the individual things,” Borchard said. “I hope they hold me in high regard as a person, not just as Joe Athlete.”