Baseball Season Preview: La Cañada aims to build on last season’s success
To continue their success from last season, La Cañada High baseball coach Matt Whisenant and his Spartans hope to establish a well-rounded team in order to make another run at a CIF Southern Section title.
With the graduation of a handful of key starters, the Spartans have a number of reliable role players to lead the team to a Rio Hondo League title defense and a deep run in the Division II playoffs.
Flintridge Prep is looking to return to the postseason, while St. Francis hopes for improvement in the tough Mission League.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
LA CAÑADA
“For us, this year, it’s even more important that we need to do the little things,” Whisenant said. “We don’t have three or four bats that can start a rally with one swing. We have to be able to create quality offensive at-bats, whether that’s drawing walks, bunting a guy over or driving a guy in on third base with less than two outs — whatever the case may be.
“Then, on the defensive side, we have some guys that are going to have to step up and throw strikes to just keep us in the game. I think we’ll have a lot of games where the determining factor is one or two runs and it’s just a matter of how we execute.”
Last season, the Spartans finished 22-8 and booked their first trip to a CIF championship game in the Division III title game at Dodger Stadium Unfortunately for La Cañada, it fell to Great Oak, 7-0.
For its efforts, La Cañada was bumped up to Division II, and to stay sharp, the Spartans will be tested throughout the season with tough matchups leading into league contention.
“I’m just as curious as you are to see where these guys will take us,” Whisenant said. “We haven’t backed down from our schedule or anything, so we still have a rough schedule on purpose to ramp up for league. In case we get into the Division II playoffs, it’s that much harder as well.”
Whisenant will look to fill the void left by two players who have graduated in All-CIF pitchers in Connor Buchanan (USC) and Ryan Graves (San Jose State). Graves finished his career as the league’s most valuable player, while Buchanan was named the league’s pitcher of the year.
In the pitching department, the Spartans can turn to junior right-hander Evan Umland or sophomore left-hander Luke Fogarty.
Last season, Umland finished with a 3.59 earned-run average, struck out 35 and walked 10 in 39 innings (11 appearances and eight starts). Fogarty, an all-league second-team selection, recorded a 3.16 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 13 walks in 31 innings (eight appearances and six starts).
In addition, Whisenant has promoted right-handed junior Nathan Mertens from the junior varsity squad.
“He’s really matured a lot,” Whisenant said. “His velocity is up. He’s been more consistent in the strike zone and he’s grown a lot as far as, I think, being varsity-ready so we can push him into the fray.”
Also included in the pitching core is right-handed pitcher Ryan Kim, a senior transfer from Village Christian.
Among returning position players will be seniors in Ian Tinkham, Jason McCubbin and Mike Lauenstein.
Tinkham, a first-team all-league selection who is set to start at shortstop, had a .320 (31 for 97) average with seven RBI and 21 runs scored with 13 extra-base hits and 11 stolen bases.
All-league second-team honoree and starting catcher McCubbin hit .311 (23 for 74) and drove in nine runs, while Lauenstein drove in 16 runs and will fill the shoes of graduated all-league first baseman Zach Feehan.
Also returning is junior Jakob Torres, who looks to make his mark at second base or shortstop.
“We have a unique balance this year,” Whisenant said. “There’s no gleaming superstar or anything. It’s just a bunch of guys that, whoever is hot, will get into the lineup. We have a lot of guys that are pretty close to each other in regards to how they produced this winter. I’m still struggling with how I’m going to make the lineup. We have a lot of options.”
A couple of Spartans who will get more playing time will be sophomore Timmy Park and junior Michael Callahan.
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. 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.