Baseball Preview: Burroughs, Providence look for returns to league success

All three local baseball programs that fielded teams in the 2015 season — Burroughs High, Burbank and Providence — qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Enjoying the most success were the Indians, who captured a league championship for the first time since 1997. The Pioneers also had a productive year, staying in contention for a Liberty League title until the final game of the regular season, while the Bulldogs grabbed the Pacific League’s final postseason berth.

Returning to the diamond will be Bellarmine-Jefferson, which didn’t field a team the two previous years. However, the Guards will have a small squad, will not play in a league and will try to “pick up some games along the way,” according to coach Fred Martinez.

Here is a closer look at the teams.

BURROUGHS

The Indians (24-5, 13-1 in league) are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history. In winning the Pacific League crown, the team’s only stumble was a 5-3 loss to Pasadena. Burroughs defeated Paramount, 3-2, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs before falling to Moorpark, 1-0.

“We lost a lot from last year,” said Burroughs Coach Craig Sherwood, who is in his third season. “Most of our top players from last year are gone, but we’ve reloaded.

“We have some young guys and we have some talent, they are just unproven as of yet. We have been working with most of them since they were in the lower levels, we played 40 games in the winter and 45 games in the summer ... so hopefully they’re ready.”

The most notable losses were senior pitchers Thomas Wilson and Danny Bustos. Wilson, the league player of the year, All-CIF and All-Area pick, went 9-0 with a 0.57 earned-run average. Bustos went 9-2 with a 0.96 ERA.

Taking over the pitching duties will be a pair of seniors: Kyle Nicol and Jesse Galindo.

“Jesse right now is our No. 1 and Kyle’s our No. 2, but they are close to one another and they are pretty much interchangeable,” Sherwood said. “Our approach stays the same, just new guys plugged into spots.”

At first base will be sophomore Nathan Palafox and junior Riley Hooper, at second will be junior Brandon Martinez and Nicol when he’s not pitching, playing third will be senior Omar Tejeda, Tannor Whitlock will do the catching and Justin Palafox will patrol shortstop.

“Justin will be our leadoff guy and he’s the real deal,” Sherwood said. “He can run, he has power and he can hit for average. And, at shortstop, the kid has amazing hands. He is going to be a great one for us.”

In the outfield will be seniors Jason Whaley, who will also be a closer, Mitch Lefevre, Shane Leonard and Randy Catlett, who will also be a reliever on the mound. A transfer from Providence, Jonathan Max, will pitch and be a position player after sitting the 30-day transfer period.

“In league, you always got to figure [Crescenta Valley] is going to be up there because they have a great youth program,” Sherwood said. “Arcadia has always had a strong tradition, I heard Pasadena has some good players, but I’ve yet to see them and Burbank is always going to be good because Bob Hart is the coach and he does a solid job.

“The league has really equaled out the last few years.”

PROVIDENCE

The Pioneers (11-9, 8-2 in league) placed second in the Liberty League after dropping two consecutive games to champion Buckley at the end of the regular season. Providence then lost in the first round of the Division VI playoffs to Santa Paula, 3-2.

With seniors who have been with the program for four years, the Pioneers see this season as a last-ditch effort to have a highly successful campaign.

“We were not happy with how we did last year, both in trying to win a league title and in the playoffs, and we fell short of our expectations,” said Providence Coach Steven Knez, who is in his sixth season. “So this is really all or nothing for us this season. This is a season I think we have a very good shot to win our first league title in 20 years.

“We have steadily been able to improve our record over the past few years. We have all kinds of experience and we feel like this is going to be the year for us. There’s no more excuses, there’s no more saying ‘Wait until next year.’ It’s now for us and we have to get it done.”

Returning to lead the Pioneers are a pair of seniors — Sean Holt and Thomas Keller — that has enjoyed successful seasons since 2013. Holt, who will pitch, play at first base and in the outfield, was an All-CIF second-team, All-Area first-team and All-Liberty League pick last season after driving in 33 runs, scoring 20 runs and collecting 12 doubles for a .455 batting average. On the mound, he went 6-5 with a league-high 72 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched. Keller, a second-team All-Area and all-league honoree who will pitch, catch and play shortstop, had league highs in runs (34) and stolen bases (29). In addition, he batted .424 and posted a 585 on-base percentage, as well as going 3-3 with a 3.59 earned-run average as a pitcher.

“Holt and Keller will carry the team once again,” Knez said. “Those two have been the one-two guys for us for four years now. We expect them to do what they do and what they do is Sean consistently gets 30 RBI and Thomas scores 30 runs a season. We just need them to do what they do.

“But we are counting on junior Stephen Knezevich and senior Dante Cano to make a large impact. Knezevich is a five-tool outfielder who will also be the third starter and Cano is a versatile infielder with speed and will also serve as a middle reliever.”

Also expected to contribute are junior catcher/infielder Alec Saavedra and junior outfielder Matthew Meza.

Providence lost two key players from last season: senior utility players Harrison Pyros, who decided not to play baseball, and Jonathan Max, now at Burroughs.

“With the loss of those two guys, now we have a few rotating infield situations,” Knez said. “At Providence, you don’t come in playing one position, you will have to play multiple positions.”

The Pioneers got a transfer in from Burroughs: junior pitcher/third baseman Sage Del Castillo, who will be eligible the first week of April after the 30-day sit-out period.

“We want to be ready for our league,” said Knez, whose team went 8-0 before dropping a pair to Buckley. “It is going to come down to us and Buckley and it’s two games at the end of the season.”

BURBANK

The Bulldogs (12-13, 7-7) are coming off a season in which they finished fourth in the Pacific League. In the Division II wild-card round, Burbank was defeated by Damien, 2-1.

With his team’s share of returners, Bob Hart believes Burbank will be a player in the quest for the Pacific League championship.

“We have a lot of returners and we have a lot of depth for a change,” said Hart, who is in his 11th season. “From that standpoint, I have a bigger roster than I’ve ever had.

“We have some talent, it looks promising so far and I think we’re going to be a contender for a league title. That’s what I anticipate. In league, I expect the usual suspects, CV, Arcadia, Burroughs, and Pasadena is always good. I think a lot of things can happen in league this season, but I feel good about this team and I think we’re going to compete.”

The Bulldogs will feature a pair of returning pitchers: senior left-hander Garrett Dolan and junior Henry Leake. Also expected to see time on the bump are junior left-hander Colby Bosgien and junior Matt Lungaro.

Playing first base will be junior Danny Porras, at second will be senior Kyle Tanner and junior Jonathan Castaneda, at shortstop will be senior Adrian Johnson and Leake when he’s not pitching, senior Fischer Cabot will patrol third and doing the catching will be sophomores Matthew Shaugabay and Abizier Delgado. In the outfield will be a pair of standouts from the Burbank football team, juniors Forrest Fajardo and Andy Reyes, along with junior Chris Minnick and seniors Jeremy Chong and Edward Fair.

“We have some guys fighting for spots, so it’s stiff competition in practice every day,” Hart said. “It’s nice to have the competition and it makes every day a little bit more exciting.”

BELL-JEFF

Fred Martinez, who also serves as the Bell-Jeff athletic director, has helped resurrect the school’s baseball program after it fell on hard times.

With just nine players, the Guards had to pull out of the Santa Fe League for this season and they have no set schedule. Martinez said the league assured him that Bell-Jeff still has a spot in the Santa Fe when the program is able to turn the corner.

“We are very young and we’ve been hit by some academic problems,” Martinez said. “But we’ve been practicing and hopefully we can find a few games. But I don’t know if we will be able to get any games, but we are hoping.

“The players are learning and developing right now. I think this year is more just taking it slowly, understanding what we have going on and getting our feet under us.”

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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com

Twitter: @jefftsports