Baseball Preview: Crescenta Valley poised for another stellar campaign with share of talent
It appears as though there might be another talented crop of area baseball players ready to step onto the diamond and contribute this season.
Some of the local teams are poised to try to win a league championship and advance deep into the postseason, while other squads have set their sights on rebuilding.
Last season, Crescenta Valley, Flintridge Prep and St. Monica Academy qualified for the CIF playoffs. St. Francis, Glendale and Hoover did not make the postseason.
Hoover will be the lone team to have a new coach. It’s likely Glendale will play all of its home games off campus, as construction has begun on a new on-campus aquatics facility adjacent to the field.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
CRESCENTA VALLEY
Though the Falcons didn’t win the Pacific League title last season, they still enjoyed an impressive postseason run under veteran coach Phil Torres.
Crescenta Valley went 20-10, 10-4 in league to tie for second with Burbank behind champion Arcadia. Crescenta Valley advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division II semifinals before falling, 4-3, to host Norco.
The Falcons appear to be in good shape once again, as they have a contingent of key returners.
Crescenta Valley will be anchored by senior pitcher/infielder Will Grimm, who earned All-CIF recognition after going 9-3 with a 1.18 earned-run average in 2019. The left-hander appeared in 16 games (13 starts) , striking out 65 and walking 36 in 83 innings. Grimm allowed 29 runs (14 earned) and 64 hits.
Grimm hit .384 (38 for 99) with 27 runs, 20 runs batted in and a .495 slugging percentage.
Grimm will be joined by senior outfielder Isaac Sung, senior infielder/outfielder Colby Rees, senior infielder Vincent Parrott and junior pitcher Noah Maddox.
“We have a couple of guys back on the mound, led by Will, who had a great season last year,” said Torres, whose team will reside in Division I. “We just need to figure out our catching and middle-infield situations, so it will be a work in progress for a bit.
“Winning league is our No. 1 priority. I think everybody in our league got better. So we have several weeks to get ready for that.”
FLINTRIDGE PREP
A season ago, Flintridge Prep went 17-9, 9-3 in the Prep League for second place behind Pasadena Poly. The Rebels reached the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs before losing, 2-0, on the road to Xavier Prep.
Flintridge Prep will be poised to earn a return trip to the postseason with standout Ben Grable paving the way.
The senior pitcher/infielder batted .475 (38 for 80) with seven doubles, six home runs and 35 RBI. He scored 28 runs en route to earning All-CIF first-team accolades a season ago.
The Rebels, who will stay in Division V, will also turn to senior pitcher/outfielder Max Gitlin and junior pitcher/infielder Bradley Marelich to provide leadership and experience.
“Our team is looking good and we are a little more talented than last year,” Flintridge Prep coach Guillermo Gonzalez said. “We have seven returners and we have the arms and the bats.
“Pasadena Poly may be the team to beat in league. We believe we can compete with any of the teams in our league.”
ST. MONICA ACADEMY
Under coach Phill Gleason, St. Monica finished fourth in its first season in the Heritage League last year. The Crusaders went 8-7, 7-5 and suffered a 6-0 road loss to Arroyo in a Division VII first-round contest.
The Crusaders should have a small nucleus of returners looking to help them move up in league in 2020.
“We’ll be very young and we could have four freshmen on the field starting,” Gleason said. “That will bode well for our future, but we still have some experienced players who can help lead the way.”
St. Monica will be led by senior pitcher/infielder Ernie Grimm, senior pitcher/infielder John Short and sophomore catcher James Christian.
The Crusaders will stay in Division VII.
ST. FRANCIS
The Golden Knights enter the season realizing the Mission League will again be one of the top leagues in Southern California.
Sr. Francis showed some signs that it can hold its own competing with league powers Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Harvard-Westlake and Chaminade. St. Francis went 12-18, 5-13 in league for last place in 2019.
The way fourth-year coach Aaron Dorlarque sees it, it’s time for the Golden Knights to make a climb in league.
“I think we definitely learned a lot from last year and we were close in many of our league games,” said Dorlarque, whose team will be in Division IV. “We have guys who continue to buy into the team culture and they are working hard.
“I think we’ll have the pitching to go along with the hitting and defense. That will be a big help in terms of improvement.”
St. Francis will be paced by senior infielders Mikey Kane and Matt Odom, senior pitcher/infielder Stephen Castro, senior catcher Brendan Durfee and junior pitcher Ethan Sanders, who will likely be the ace of the starting rotation.
GLENDALE
Glendale begins its second season under coach Marcus Whithorne. Last season, the Nitros went 8-15, 2-12 in the Pacific League for seventh place in the eight-team league.
Whithorne would like to see the Nitros improve, so they can serve notice this season and beyond.
“We do have some top-end talent,” Whithorne said. “We’re looking to compete and make a difference.
“We’ll have some good pitchers. It’s going to be another season in terms of building the culture.”
Glendale will rely on senior pitcher/infielder Thomas Kovarik, senior pitcher Nate Burke, senior pitcher/outfielder Ian Nord and sophomore infielder Danny Villela.
With construction of the new campus pool expected to continue through the spring, the Nitros will likely play their home games at Stengel Field and Dunsmore Park.
Glendale will be in Division VI.
HOOVER
Hoover starts a new era after it hired coach Derek Parker, who coached the West Covina High junior varsity team last season. Parker takes over for Don DiPetta.
The Tornadoes went 1-24, 0-14 in the Pacific League last season.
Parker would like to see Hoover begin an immediate rebuild, so it is in position to win more games soon.
“I feel good in that we can definitely turn around the program,” Parker said. “We want to wipe it clean and build a new slate.
“We’ll have a group of mostly seniors and they can draw from their experiences.”
Hoover, which will reside in Division VII, will be led by senior infielder Matt Jovel, senior pitcher/outfielder Preston Rodriguez and senior infielder/outfielder Joey Ruiz.
