One year after the best season in program history, the Amador Valley baseball team is ready to be the hunted By ChaCe BrysOn | Editor
It’s 2:15 on a gray Wednesday afternoon in Pleasanton. There are dark masses of clouds in every direction. These aren’t just rain clouds. These are the types of clouds that, if given the power of speech, would say — in a deep Charlton Heston-like voice — ‘Go away. Unless you want to get very, very wet.’ Yet above the Amador Valley High baseball field, the sky is blue. And the collective mood is light as the Dons players show up for their seventh period baseball class — which also doubles as the first 40 minutes of practice each day. This day will be a bit different, however. Because this is the first day it becomes evident that the 2011 season is going to be a bit different from its predecessor. “I knew this was coming” Amador Valley coach Lou Cesario said of his practice being delayed while four of his senior leaders followed a cameraman around the field as the rest of the team waited to begin its stretching routine. This isn’t Cesario’s first rodeo, currently in his 10th year coaching the Dons. But even a first-year coach would be able to figure out that winning the school’s first section title, returning 11 seniors, and landing the state’s No. 2 ranking to open the season are all likely to bring some additional attention to the program. One game into the season last year, the atmosphere was much different. And it stayed pretty much the same for the following 20 games or so. It wasn’t until Amador Valley claimed its first East Bay Athletic League title in 30 years that other teams realized the Dons might be a team worth paying attention to. “We were able to stay under the radar through the whole year last season, basically,” said Chris Keck, the Dons’ senior shortstop. “This year will be different.” ◆◆◆ Keck is just another one of the reasons why. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound standout who throws right and bats left, is committed to UCLA and is an early candidate for State Player of the Year. And yet, Keck — who hit .462 with 26 RBI despite being walked 31 times in 28 games — might also stand as a reason why this Dons team could remain greatly unaffected by the attention last year’s success has created. Undoubtedly the alpha dog in the Amador Valley dugout, Keck takes an unassuming and quiet approach to his leadership role. Keeping things lose. “He’s just one of the guys,” senior pitcher Nick Piscotty said of Keck. “We keep things pretty loose in practice, and Chris is kind of the ringleader when it comes to chirping at guys. And 18
SportStars™
March 10, 2011
Bob Larson
Nick Piscotty fires a pitch in Amador Valley’s seasonopener against IrvingtonFremont on Feb. 26. He earned the win, striking out eight.
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