First-year Santa Barbara High baseball coach Donny Warrecker wasn’t sure he’d have an experienced catcher at the start of the season.
His worries were eased by the quick recovery of Samsun Keithley.
Keithley will be behind the plate this week when the Dons twice play rival San Marcos with a shot at winning the Channel League title at stake.
Going into the week, Santa Barbara (6-4) was a half-game behind Dos Pueblos (6-3). The Chargers play three games against Ventura this week.
“This end of the year is ending up really exciting for us,” Warrecker said at Monday’s final Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon of the school year.
Having Keithley in the lineup has been a blessing for Warrecker and the Dons, because there was time when they didn’t know who would be playing catcher.
“It was really dicey at the beginning of the season,”Warrecker said. “Samsun was out with an appendicitis. His appendix burst on him and he had surgery. Our other catcher was going for a fly ball during batting practice, slid, got kneed in the head and suffered a concussion. It knocked him out for the rest of the season.”
Warrecker was facing a big problem. He had a big-time pitcher in Kevin Gowdy but no catcher.
“I called Sam in the hospital and said, ‘You got to get well soon. We need a catcher or we’re in dire straits,’’’ he recalled.
Keithley recovered in time and has caught every inning for the Dons.
“The big thing is he receives the ball really well,” Warrecker said. “He blocks (the plate) well, and he’s super coachable. We’re very fortunate he came back for us.”
He’s also provided some key hits in last two games.
Warrecker also acknowledged the contributions of Joey Arroyo.
“He’s the ultimate teammate. He roots on his teammates, he doesn’t pout about his circumstance. This is the reason why I’m coaching, this big picture thing. In the future, he’s going to go on and baseball is probably not going to be part that, but I know that the lessons he’s learned by being part of the program he’s going to continue to be a great person and is going to be a great contributing member to society in the future.”
Carpinteria: Freshman left-hander Chase Mayer and catcher Toby Spach have been key players for the CIF-bound Warriors. They play a two-game series with Malibu this week and look to clinch third place in league.
TENNIS
San Marcos: Coach Jarrod Bradley praised senior team captain Christo Anderson for being a natural leader. Anderson, the ASB President, is going to USC. He carries a 4.7 GPA.
Bradley talked about how fortunate he is to coach a player as talented and hard working as Kento Perera, the three-time Channel League champion.
“He sets the bar at a totally new level in terms of preparation and practice,” Bradley said of Perera’s tennis and academics. He carries 4.8 GPA. “He’s an absolutely impeccable young man I’m very fortunate to have him at San Marcos. To be able to watch him play… I don’t do a whole of coaching when you’re 26-0.”
The Royals will travel to Harvard Westlake on Wednesday for their first-round CIF Division 1 playoff match.
Santa Barbara High: Coach Greg Tebbe introduced the doubles team of Tyler Greenwald and Taggart Mills and Channel League singles runner-up Spencer Ekola. All three players are team captains.
Greenwald posted records of 32-9 and 12-1 in Channel League. He’s headed to the University of Texas in Austin. Mills went 33-10 and 15-0 in league, completing a two-year unbeaten record in Channel League (he went 24-0 last year). He will be attending Elon University in North Carolina.
Ekola went 30-14, 14-2 and qualified for the CIF Sectionals.
“This guys are outstanding representatives of Santa Barbara High School. They’re great competitors, terrific teammates and displayed outstanding sportsmanship at all times. I’m proud to be their coach,” said Tebbe.
Santa Barbara went 13-5 in the regular season and 8-0 in Channel League. The league title was the 16th in a row. Tebbe said when he was a senior on the 1981 SBHS team, the Dons won a 16th straight league championship. The program has won 48 of the last 49 titles.
“It’s kind of cool to be part of that,” he said.
The Dons open the CIF Division 1 playoffs at home Wednesday against Newbury Park.
Dos Pueblos: Coach Liz Frech expressed her amazement on how her young squad finished 11-6 and earned a CIF playoff spot. The Chargers are home Wednesday against Viewpoint.
“This young team has stepped up in every way,” she said. “We’re fortunate to have the record we have at 11-6. It should have been reversed. Added to that, they’re a very close team.”
She introduced the doubles team of sophomore Vincent Villano and junior Miles Baldwin, the Channel League runners-up.
Carpinteria: The Warriors finished fourth in the Tri-Valley League behind the leadership of juniors Jeremy Saito and Jacob Ascencio.
UCSB: Men’s assistant Blake Muller said the Big West-champion Gauchos face Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at USC.
SOFTBALL
San Marcos: Coach Jeff Swann said the scenario looked good for his team to finish third and earn a CIF playoff spot. The Royals are 16-10 and 6-6 in Channel League.
“Ventura would have to beat DP three times this week for us to be out of the playoffs,” he said. “That seems unlikely, especially because DP needs to win all three to take first place. They’re motivated to win. It’s a good scenario for us.”
Swann said freshman middle infielder Sinai Miranda “plays her spot great” and always has a smile on her face.
Hailey Fryklund homered in big wins over Dos Pueblos and Ventura to put the Royals in position to make the playoffs.
“She’s been hitting the ball great all year,” said Swann.
Santa Barbara: Coach Tori Shyrock lauded the play and dedication of junior outfielder Alexa Zampese and sophomore pitcher Katie Firestone. Zampese came back to the team after a major injury and Firestone stepped up and learned pitching.
SBCC: The Vaqueros clinched their first regional playoff series in program history, beating Grossmont two games to one over the weekend. They advance to a four-team Super Regional and open against No. 2 Santiago Canyon on Friday. At 30-12, one more victory would tie the school record for wins.
UCSB: The Gauchos are coming off a sweep against UC Davis and are tied for the third in the Big West, one game out of second.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” coach Brie Galiciano said. “I just wish it would have come a little bit earlier.”
The coach brought senior pitcher Ashley Ludlow freshman hurler Veronika Gulvin of Dos Pueblos High.
Bishop Diego: Assistant coach Mike Cano lauded the play and dedication of freshmen Kate Bensian, Taylor Woodward and Miranda Alvarez. The Cardinals finished 4-6 in the Frontier League and 5-11 overall.
Carpinteria: Sierra Diaz has been dubbed “Miss Consistency” and Jayme Deneault “Miss Enthusiasm” by coach Henry Gonzalez, Carpinteria athletic director Pat Cooney reported.
TRACK
San Marcos: The Royals won 15 of the 32 varsity titles contested at the Channel League Championships in Ventura last Friday.
“That was a great showing,” she said.
Hantgin brought senior and sophomore members of the team. The seniors were Olivia Jones and Tyson Miller and the sophomores Allie Jones, Jennifer Nnoli and Jason Peterson.
Hangtin called Peterson’s victory in the 800 the “race of the day,” as he beat the traditionally strong runners from Ventura and Buena. “He went out and looked really good and ran his personal best (1:58),” said Hantgin.
Nnoli swept the sprints and joined Jones on the winning 4×100 relay team. Hantgin said Nnoli’s 25.03 time in the 200 passed the 1991 school record of Barbie Jones and her 100 time of 12.10 is second all-time at the school.
Allie Jones’ second-place 100 hurdles time of 14.72 is No. 2 all-time at San Marcos.
Hantgin said Olivia Jones “was the glue we needed this to see how far how relays can go.” She’s headed to UC Davis on a soccer scholarship.
Miller, who is headed to the University of Chicago, is going to the CIF Prelims as league champion in the 400 and 200 and part of the 4×400 relay team. He is a repeat champion in the 400.
San Marcos will be taking 25 athletes to the Division 2 Prelims at Moorpark on Saturday.
Carpinteria: Ava Groper, Wyatt Stevenson and Daniel Burquez qualified for this Saturday’s CIF Division 4 Prelims, which Carpinteria is hosting.
Groper is a first-time qualifier in the long jump and triple jump. Stevenson, a sophomore became Carpinteria’s first league champion in the 100 in 34 years. He also runs on the 4×100 relay.
“His upside is huge,” said assistant coach Weldon Nomura.
Daniel Burquez qualified in the triple jump. Nomura said Burquez is a “track junkie” and his dedication and passion are showing in his results. It also helps that he’s pushed by teammates Tim Jimenez and Ryan Springer every day in training, Nomura said.
ICE HOCKEY
Santa Barbara Royals: Steve Heinze, a former NHL player with the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings, spoke about the local team that won the championship of the inaugural Los Angeles Kings High School Hockey League.
The Royals were a regional team that consisted of 13 players from San Marcos, one from Santa Barbara and one from Dos Pueblos. The team went 15-0-1 and won the league title at Staples Center, home of the L.A. Kings.
“I inherited some very good players,” said Heinze.
Jack Johnson of San Marcos was named the league’s MVP, Will Hahn of Santa Barbara was the best goaltender and Chris Ewausik of San Marcos was recognized as the best sportsman in the league.
Heinze announced that tryouts for the next season will be in August and the season will begin in September.
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