Still on the road: Eagle Baseball

The Eagles planned to take a road trip to Yreka Wednesday so they could hold their first practice on a baseball field in more than a month.

With their home diamond buried by a series of late winter snowstorms, coaches and players did their best to prepare for the start of the Golden Valley Conference season in the gym.

Games were canceled and rescheduled. Five road games in a very competitive GVC ended in losses. Head coach Tevin Cadola said the adversity at least proved beneficial to advancing some problem-solving skills.

After three more conference road games at Redwoods in Eureka this Friday and Saturday, there's hope that the Eagles will play their first home games of the season Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, against Butte.

Before the deluge, things were clicking for the Eagles. They lost their first four games against strong teams, then won 7 of their next 10 to finish the preseason with a 7-7 record.

Several Eagle hitters are carrying noteworthy stats despite the practice limitations. Outfielder Ryelen Samson leads all GVC players with 10 stolen bases and leads the team with 16 hits, 13 runs scored, and 2 triples. Samson has a .327 batting average that ranks 12^th among GVC hitters and a .414 on base percentage. Cadola said Samson "works hard to get on base" and is "always looking for another 90 feet."

Catcher Connor Jones is putting up some all-conference type numbers with a .395/.511/.526 slash line, while Cadola said Drew Raebel is embracing the role of designated hitter and putting together many quality at-bats. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound freshman is slashing .364/.432/.697 with 5 doubles and 2 home runs.

Outfielder Dewitt Nunery is using his quick hands to post a .313 batting average and .436 OBP. "He's still growing and maturing as a hitter and showing a lot of potential," Cadola said.

Freshman infielder and leadoff hitter Taiyo "TK" Kurosawa leads the Eagles with 10 walks and 5 doubles, is second on the team with 15 hits, 11 runs scored, and 4 stolen bases, and third with 9 runs batted in.

Pitcher/infielder Callan Vreim leads the team with 12 RBI and has the best ERA among the Eagles' starting pitchers at 4.45.

Freshman outfielder Kadin Bolanos has a team-high 3 home runs with 10 RBI, and freshman shortstop Dylan Battye has made the most of his 8 hits by driving in 9 runs and scoring 8 times.

Austin Jaramillo leads the Eagle relief pitchers with a 2.00 ERA in 9 innings on the mound, while starting pitcher Dante Bravo has struck out 26 batters in 24.2 innings and Carson Jones has struck out 28 in 33.1 innings.

This weekend's opponent, Redwoods, is also 0-5 in conference and 4-12 overall.

By Steve Gerace