BASEBALL: Harbor Team Poised Despite Flood-Ravaged Field

This season, the Harbor Pirates are focused on one goal: making it back to the Central Coast Section Playoffs.

In order to do so, the Pirates will rely on strong pitching and defense to win ball games.

Sophomore pitchers Lucas Hewitt and Riley James lead a Pirates pitching staff that also features seniors Padraic Collins and Colin Gruber as well as juniors Dylan Kelley and Ernesto Zamarippa.

Last season, the Pirates finished with a 13-14 record overall, and only managed three victories in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play.

Hewitt and James were responsible for nine of those wins.

“My highest expectations are for Lucas (Hewitt) and Riley (James) because I know they’ve matured one more year and they’ve grown, both physically and mentally,” fourth-year Harbor Coach Joseph Allegri said. “They have a lot of potential to succeed in our league, especially with these new bats.”

This season, the SCCAL changed regulations regarding bats in order to decrease the likelihood of injuries. Thus far, the bats have proven to be an advantage to pitchers.

On the offensive side, the Pirates feature third-year varsity starter senior Tanner Richie behind the plate, power-hitting infielder Ozzy Hall, and designated hitter Matt Reid in the heart of the lineup. Junior Andres Diaz will slide over to shortstop from third base this year and will bat atop the order due to his stellar speed.

Harbor’s biggest concern this year is replacing the likes of Jake Pruger, Garrett Beyers, and Jalen Cahill in the outfield. Sophomore Abel Lopez and junior Aaron Caceres will see considerable time, while Collins and Gruber will compete for playing time on days they are not pitching. Newcomer Connor Plant should also compete for time in the outfield.

“I want to get back to the CCS playoffs,” Allegri said of his expectations for the season, “and contend for a league title, which hasn’t happened since 1987.”

With a number of different combinations of lineups, the Pirates look like they have a good chance of living up to their coach’s expectations in 2011.

Through Friday, March 25, the Pirates are 3-4 overall and 1-0 in SCCAL play.

Due to recent weather conditions, many games have been postponed throughout the SCCAL, and Harbor is no exception. The rescheduling should make for a busy second half of the season.

With the recent flooding, the Pirates’ field is now unplayable for an unknown amount of time. Harbor will now have to play games at another facility until the field is repaired.

Coach Allegri is optimistic about the repairs, but public involvement will still be critical to the program’s recovery.