Mental approach is the key for baseball
By Hector Trujillo
The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) varsity baseball team is playing winning baseball and is over .500 after their first nine games of the season as they enter a week-long break before their next game on March 31 against Patrick Henry High School.
The team started off the season with an impressive blowout 11-0 win over Mira Mesa High School on Feb. 24, but then fell at home to Torrey Pines High School 5-0 the following day. After the shutout loss they bounced back going on a three-game winning streak over Clairemont, San Pasqual and Grossmont High School, outscoring their opponents by a combined 28-8 during that span playing on the road.
“We’ve got guys that can play all over the yard,” said SRHS head coach Chris Lamb. “We’re definitely more versatile than we were last year. We do have a lot of pieces this year that should lead to a successful season for us.”
After the victory at Grossmont, the team stumbled in the next two games, first against Steele Canyon by a 2-1 score followed by a 3-1 loss to Santana High School. Once again, they were able to right the ship quickly, coming out with a 5-4 win over Granite Hills High School at home.
SRHS still has two-thirds of its schedule left to play including their league games starting on April 4 with a three-game series versus St. Augustine High School.
“It’s an approach thing and a mentality thing with our group this year,” Lamb said. “We’re playing with a bit more of a togetherness than we did last year. Playing with more of an energy and more of an attitude will help us this year for sure.”
The team finished with a 12-16 record last season, going 4-8 in league play, losing all three games against St. Augustine which will make those particular matches of heightened importance this time around.
Their following league matches will be against Coronado High School, followed by Mission Hills and La Jolla Country Day, with a three-game series against Madison High School starting on April 18. SRHS then faces off with back to back three-game stints against Point Loma and Cathedral Catholic High School, respectively, before traveling to Coronado and ending the regular season against Canyon Crest Academy in two non-league contests.
Among the team’s top players this season are right-hand pitcher Tyler Bremner who has committed to the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is already garnering lots of attention.
“He’s got Major League scouts coming every single game,” Lamb said. “It gives the other guys a chance to play in front of scouts.”