Santa Barbara boys baseball is 1st in the Channel League in hopes of keeping that title at the end of the season. The Dons have already had new opportunities this season including traveling down to Arizona during spring break for a tournament that ended 3-1. For the team’s in-town games, the Dons beat DP 8-0 at home, but lost 1-0 away. The Dons faced the San Marcos Royals on April 9th to start the rivalry game at San Marcos and met them back at home on April 12th. Last season the baseball team was 3rd in the Channel League, already starting better than last year. The Dons have been practicing hard and are ready for every game to get that win. The games are exciting and leave high hopes they will make it to the CIF playoffs this season.

When interviewing Senior Michael Firestone in preparation for the SM games he states, “The main way we’ve been preparing is treating them like any other team.” Firestone added the Dons know they are better and says, “If we stay level headed we’ll steamroll over them like we have been towards the rest of the league.” Since he’s a senior when questioned, “Any personal goals for this season?” Firestone answered, “To make the Channel League first team”. A major team goal for the baseball team this season is to win the Channel League and compete in the CIF playoffs. When questioning another senior Liam Keithley, when asked what are his personal goals this season, Keithley wants to have fun and win the league as well. His favorite memory from his high school baseball career was when he pitched against a San Marcos senior who was an MLB draft prospect. Keithley added that the game was highly competitive and fun.

The first San Marcos game didn’t go as planned. San Marcos was filled with fans from both sides. This game wasn’t as competitive compared to others due to the Dons losing 6-2. The Dons had high hopes they would bounce back for the next game. The Dons did bounce back, beating the Royals 3-2 in the 8th inning at home. Santa Barbara won off a wild pitch with Kaden Spencer running in to make the Dons win 3-2. If the team continues to stay 1st in league the rest of the season is looking promising.

Dons up to bat against San Marcos on April 9th [Image Credit: Viviana Ruiz]