Cathedral Catholic’s Dons’ varsity baseball team, with a record of 11-2, is currently looking to go further than last year’s league title success to win the CIF crown that has recently eluded them.
Today, the Dons will play the Mater Dei Crusaders (2-9) before heading to Grossmont High School on the 18th to play Montgomery in the first round of the Lions Tournament, where they sit in the “A” bracket.
The recent success of the team might come to surprise those who know of the recent injuries to upperclassmen such as senior Eric Sapp, who has played just three games so far this season. “It’s been hard, but the younger guys have really stepped up,” said senior Tommy Valles.
Sophomores, like Stephen Gonsalves, who recently pitched a full seven innings with no earned runs and 11 strikeouts against La Jolla, and juniors, like Jesse Kay, who is sporting a .382 batting average and is currently leading the team in doubles with six, have certainly helped to carry the load left by the injured players.
Pitching has been the bright spot of the Dons team so far this season, and in the strongest position on the team, senior Daniel Camarena and sophomore Stephen Gonsalves have been the most impressive, both averaging less than 0.4 earned runs. The two have a combined 68 strikeouts and have only given up a total of 23 hits combined.
Gonsalves, being only a sophomore, shows that the Dons are prepared for the immediate future as long as he stays healthy. In an interview with Perfect Game USA, Coach Gary Remiker said that Gonsalves shows “…as much upside as anyone I’ve ever coached, including Mark Prior.”
On the other side of the spectrum, the batters on the Dons roster have been erratic. “When we win, we get 15+ hits, but in our two losses, we were no hit by Mira Mesa and two hit by Granite Hills…We need to be more consistent,” said senior Nico Garbella.
The team presently boasts a .300 batting average, but upperclassmen on the team believe they can do better than that. “It’s what we as a team can improve on the most,” said Tommy Valles.
The Lions Tournament is self-billed as the “oldest, biggest and best high school tournament in America,” and it poses a challenge for the Dons as they are in the “A” bracket with the highest-ranked schools in Southern California sitting with them in the Classic Division. They are scheduled to play Montgomery, Rancho Bernardo and Temecula valley over a three-day span. If they end all three games with the best record in the bracket, they will play the winner of the “B” bracket on April 21st for a spot in the championship game later in the same day.
“We know we can win league,” said Tommy. “We expect to win CIF this year.”
The Dons have the stats, and they have the players to take them over the hump this season, and with injured players set to return, the Dons seem to be in prime playing position.