Baseball Looks Forward to Another Season

Senior Bradley Perez says, “one of my greatest strengths in baseball is pitching”.  According to Perez, he has been playing baseball ever since he was little.  He defines success in baseball as winning as well as describes himself as a hard worker.  A weakness that Perez has is “emotions and I overcome it by playing hard”.  He also believes that being on a team resembles a family.  Due to past events, Perez believes that Bakersfield Christian High School will be a tough game because they are a good team.

Someone that Adam Salazar looks up to is his father.  Salazar says that he was inspired to play baseball by his dad.  Salazar has been playing baseball since the age of seven.  Salazar plays shortstop, middle, and field.  He states that a few of his greatest strengths in baseball are hitting and his hand and eye coordination on the field.  He defines success in baseball as batting three hundred and making good plays on the field.  Salazar describes himself as a hard worker.  According to Salazar, a weakness he has in baseball is “his size”.  Salazar overcomes it by not letting it affect him while he is playing.  Salazar also states that “Our team here at Ridgeview is more than a team. We are really close, we have a bond, and we have been playing baseball since before high school, so it means a lot to be on that team with them”.  One of Salazar’s greatest plays in baseball was last year against Bakersfield Christian High School when he threw a three, two-strike to help his team go into the next round of playoffs.  According to Salazar, Bakersfield Christian High School will be the toughest team that he and his team go against this year due to past game experiences such as last year in the playoffs when they proved that they were a really good team.  A few of Salazar’s goals for this season are to help his team win a Valley Championship for a second time and to continue to get better. 

 Senior Adan Rivera states, “Some of my best strengths in baseball are hitting and being a powerhouse on the team”.  Rivera has been playing baseball at Ridgeview for four years.  According to Rivera, “being on a team means building chemistry and having fun with your teammates”.  Rivera has been a baseball player since he was young and has had a passion for the sport ever since.  Rivera is a first and third baseman as well as a pitcher.  According to Rivera, he looks up to MLB player Giancarlo Stanton.  Rivera defines success in baseball as working hard and staying consistent.  He also believes that he himself is a hard worker on the field.  Rivera says that one of his biggest weaknesses in baseball is his speed which he plans to fix by getting quicker and more explosive.  The toughest team Rivera believes that he and his team will face this season is Bakersfield Christian High School because “They have a really good pitching rotation and four guys that are going D1”.  Rivera’s goal for this season is to exceed the double amount he led his team with last year.

According to baseball coach Jason Hunsaker, the plan for this season is to win the Valley Championship game.  Hunsaker has been coaching baseball for 20 years.  He hopes that the team wins as many games as they can this season.  Hunsaker has a really good feeling about his team so far.  He believes that he has a good group of freshmen this year.   He defines success in baseball as, “the players playing well with one another and backing each other up on and off the field”.  A few of the team’s greatest strengths are pitching, playing together as a team, and hitting.  Something important that Hunsaker has learned from coaching baseball is that winning is not everything all the time.  Hunsaker describes the team’s practices as hardworking.  He hopes this will pay off in their first game of the season.  Hunsaker’s favorite thing about coaching baseball is being out on the field.  The toughest team that Hunsaker has gone against while coaching baseball is Royal High School in the State Championship game three years ago because “They were well coached and a very efficient team”.  Hunsaker says that his group of seniors this year are all standout players.

Finally, the baseball team here at Ridgeview is ready to start the season and get close to winning the Valley Championship.  According to Hunsaker, he is very confident that his team will make it to the Valley Championship.   With everyone’s hard work, they hope to overcome any challenge and end the season well.