Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
Cerro Coso baseball returns to the diamond after a season where the Coyotes finished with a 23-16 overall record and an Inland Empire Athletic Conference record of 14-10 to finish in fourth place after making a final push at the end for a postseason berth.
Head coach Justus Scott spoke on his team's season and fighting to the last game for a playoff berth.
"We had ourselves in position last year about two weeks before the season ended, and baseball is funny because it didn't work out for us. A lot of that was our own making as we didn't finish strong and lost a couple of close games that we should have won," he said.
At the end of the season, many talented players received offers from Division 1, Division 2, and NAIA programs to continue their collegiate careers and earn an education. Scott was proud of having many of his players earn those opportunities.
"They were good players from a baseball standpoint that certainly deserved to move on. They will have good careers where they are at. We are definitely losing some talent from the offensive side," he said.
The Coyotes are taking the diamond with what is essentially a brand-new team under JUCO rules of two-years of eligibility. There are some returning sophomore players and brand-new freshmen making their debut at the collegiate level. Scott spoke on his squad for this upcoming season and getting the right rotation.
"We certainly have some returners. Even the returning in name coming as sophomores didn't get a lot of ABs (at-bats) or a lot of innings. So, in a way they are fresh, they are green, and probably be a little bit nervous. But they have been around it for a year and have seen it, so they are ready to go. Where we are fortunate in a few ways is we have some really quality freshman pitchers. Probably two of our three best guys are freshmen, and we are also fortunate that we have some returning arms that were redshirted last year for injuries but pitched the year before. In that way we are a little bit older on the mound with some – if you want to call them veterans – veterans who have been here for three years," the Coyotes coach said.
The Coyotes do not have an easy schedule for the upcoming season in non-conference play and are in a strong conference. The non-conference slate begins with a home-and-away series against Rio Hondo beginning Saturday on the road and ending at home on Sunday. The non-conference schedule has the Coyotes playing against quality programs that played in the postseason. Scott spoke on his team's non-conference schedule and the games he is excited to see them play.
"We start off right away. We have Fresno coming in in the first couple of weeks to our place. Perennial top-three or -four team in the north. We go down to Southwestern, who is always in the playoffs. Irvine Valley, another Orange Empire team that we played well against at home. We go on the road to them. So, our non-conference schedule from the get-go is we are playing some teams and good baseball. So, we are going to find out," he said.
Scott continued speaking about the conference portion of the schedule and the games he is excited to see his team play, beginning with a three-game series against Barstow beginning at home on Feb. 17.
"All of them really. Conference is a different thing. The last few years it's always come down to us, San Jacinto, and San Bernardino and Desert thrown in there a little bit battling for who that second- to third-place team is, so I'm sure nothing will change. We will be three or four teams depending on the last two weeks of the season depending on who wins the season," he said.
The Coyotes coach touched on the goals for the team going into non-conference and conference play.
"It's kind of two-fold. You definitely want to be playing well and be healthy come conference because that is ultimately in our conference, if we are talking about playoffs, what matters. But at the same time, we have to play well non-conference to give ourselves a chance at a higher seeding or going into conference feeling good about yourself as a team. That is a piece of it as you have to feel confident and feel good about yourself as an athlete, and wins and losses contribute to that. Our non-conference schedule as it has been for the past four years is one of the tougher in the state with a lot of playoff teams in there. If you can play .500 baseball through non-conference, that would be good. If you are above that, which we have a chance to be if things fall our way, now you are feeling really good about yourself going into conference," Scott said.
Going into the new season, Scott has a team consisting of 42 players on the roster with half returning players and the other half freshman players. With a nice mix of returners and freshmen, and with a difficult non-conference schedule, the Coyotes coach spoke on what to expect from his veteran leadership.
"So far with what we have seen in the Fall, it's junior college baseball, two-year baseball is so unique because they are in and out so quick. They are all the same – I say it all the time – age so you don't necessarily have that older leadership the fifth-year senior with freshmen, which brings a dynamic which isn't always good," he said. "We are built a little different this year, and not that last year's team or the year before team wasn't team orientated, but my gut tells me this is a very team-oriented team. And that bodes well for us where guys are playing together, truly playing to win baseball games instead of maybe their individual numbers, which kind of happens at this level more times than not. Because they have to move on so it's a different dynamic, so I like where we are at with that. It's a good group of guys how they act with each other, treat each other, and we have been playing some baseball, it's more of a baseball team then maybe the last year or two when we are waiting for a three-run homer. These guys have bought in a little bit."
One of the toughest challenge Scott faces is helping his sophomore players get scouted in their final year of eligibility and move on. As for freshmen, he knows many if not all will return for their sophomore year if they are not scouted and given an offer to move on. It's a difficult challenge he faces as he also works to put the best team forward and fight for a chance to play in the postseason.
"Most of the time here at Cerro Coso, freshmen will come back. We've had a guy or two in my tenure here for whatever reason has been recruited by a four-year after freshman year. We are more than willing if that's the right opportunity for the guy and they want to go to that school, yeah, it's great, get out of here as a freshman. But more times than not, they come back as a sophomore, just the nature of recruiting four years and two years. A balance has to be struck with playing time with sophomores, because really this is their last opportunity to get seen, and you have to have playing time, you have to have ABs, you have to have innings on the mound to move on," the Cerro Coso coach said. "But the same time you have to put the best nine, 10, and 11 guys on the field to win. That's my job, to battle both and have a measure of both. But this year there's going to be some freshmen that will get a lot of quality playing time, which bodes well for next year. And you want some freshmen too who are not playing every day to get exposed and get some ABs, get some innings, so that way they are going into their sophomore year a little bit seasoned."
The Coyotes coach continued that the balance of playing sophomores and freshmen does help the team with the competition for playing time.
He said, "competition is good and healthy; competition is great. There is nothing better for a team. There is always that chance that at this age, this level, more so when guys get a little bit older that initially at the beginning of the season if they are not playing a lot and not happy, a lot of guys cannot sustain the good teammate, good demeanor, practicing hard, waiting for their chance, waiting for things to possibly turn around for them. But that doesn't change, it's year after year, it's up to the player to overcome that. It's hard, this level is really most of our guys, if not all, where some of them will not play. They all played in high school, they all started, at some places the best guy on the team, and here it changes. That's good for us because we are competitive, but the practices in this group – again – my gut tells me this is a pretty good group with that stuff. They are pulling for each other, they kind of understand but that could fly out the window the first day they are not playing."
These factors have created a lot of excitement for the upcoming season that begins Saturday at Rio Hondo with the first pitch at 1 p.m.
"It's very exciting. Spring sports and spring baseball, it's a grind in the Fall with five to six months academically, practice, and now they get to play. Everybody is excited, and the facilities are almost done. They are beautiful, they are new. Kind of a new team in a way with a new coaching staff, so there is a lot of new here and a lot of excitement surrounding it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun," he said.
This season will be the first with the new stadium seating after playing without fans last season. Scott said there is an excitement from his players to play the first game with fans in the new seating.
"I know they are excited, but I think reality will hit when we start playing and there are actually fans there, and the outfield fence is finished and everything is complete. I think it will hit them then after going through it the last couple of years where things were in progress. They might realize how fun and how good they have it right now. I know some guys who have come back and they joke they are a little annoyed they didn't get to play in it," he said.
Cerro Coso opens the new season with home and away series against Rio Hondo beginning at Rio Hondo on Saturday and returning to Cerro Coso on Sunday. The first pitch for both games is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Coyotes then host Porterville on Tuesday with the first pitch at 2 p.m.