High school baseball preview

By Ben Cason

South Central League high school baseball games are back in Pueblo. The high school baseball teams are finishing up their out-ofleague games and now move back for league games. The schedule is set where Centennial, Central, County, East, Pueblo West and South will face each other twice over the next month.

Let’s check in on each of the six SCL teams.

Centennial Bulldogs

The Bulldogs struggled mightily last season in league play, finishing 1-9 in the SCL with a 6-17 overall record. However, in 2023’s non-league games, Centennial has impressed. The Bulldogs are 6-4 with statement wins over Mesa Ridge, Fountain-Fort Carson and Widefield on their resume.

Centennial’s offense was a strength last season, and they are firing on all cylinders early: scoring 8.9 runs per game. The Bulldogs are returning many of their starters from last year and the early results are showing a step in development.

The team is led by three seniors who are all hitting above .500 through 10 games.

Joey Cardinal hit .444 in 2022, leading the team in extra base hits, and he’s improved to a .500 batting average and a team leading .639 on base percentage.

Jordon West leads the team with a .533 batting average and 12 RBI. Bryant Armijo-Martin is also hitting .500 and has 5 extra base hits.

In 2022, the pitching struggled for the Bulldogs. They had a team ERA of 10.59 and rotated through ten different pitchers. The 2023 staff was showing improvement, but struggled in their two most recent games against La Junta and D’Evelyn, surrendering 32 combined runs in those games.

For Centennial to compete with the class of the SCL, they will need improvement on the mound.

Making sense of a crowded South Central League

One area to improve on is team defense. In 2022, Centennial committed 80 team errors, which is nearly four per game. In 2023, the team has improved to just 1.8 errors per game. Centennial has the offense to keep up, if the pitching can lock-in. Centennial will surprise some people and make noise in the SCL.

Central Wildcats

2022 was a breakout year for the Wildcats, finishing 18-6 with a 6-4 SCL record. They established themselves as the third best team in Pueblo with an incredibly young roster. Only one starter from the 2023 team graduated.

Central is off to a 5-5 start, but they have been playing a tough out-of-league schedule. The Wildcats have faced teams from Arizona and Idaho, plus solid Colorado Springs schools.

Colton Calderon hit .458 in

2022 as a freshman, now as a sophomore he leads the team with his .519 batting average. He also leads the team in RBI and extra base hits. Ethan Ayala has been a key contributor, hitting .444 and scoring a team leading 14 runs.

Hugo Sanchez and Anthony Trujillo have stepped up early as the workhorses on the mound for the wildcats. They have combined to pitch 35 of Central’s 61 innings played. Sanchez has a 5.35 ERA in 6 appearances, and Trujillo has a 1.17 ERA. Trujillo had a 2.45 ERA last season as a freshman.

This is still a young group of players. If Zach Mehess can get going near his .466 2022 batting average and the pitching can lock-in, this team will make a ton of noise in the SCL. Last year against County and Pueblo West, Central went 0-4 losing 45-10 combined. To be the top dog you have to beat the top dogs. Those games will be key, if Central is going to win the SCL.

County Hornets

Pueblo County put together their fifth consecutive season above .500 in 2022 with one of their finest teams. County went 17-7 with a shining 9-1 SCL record. The only blemish was the split with Pueblo West at the top. Jace Barger and Derick Domenico graduated, but County returns many key players from the 2022 team looking to avenge their playoff loss to Severance.

2023 has started brilliantly for County as they sit 8-1 entering league games. Overpowering pitching was the key for County’s success in 2022, and so far they seem to have taken another step forward. The team ERA is just 3.65, with the team combining for 89 strikeouts in just nine games. Senior Braxton Vail is emerging as the ace of the staff with a 1.40 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched.

The offense has a new look in 2023, but early on the results have been very promising. Junior Parker Hankins won a starting job after having just four varsity at bats in 2022. He’s hitting .591 and getting on base at a ridiculous .690 clip.

County has five different hitters hitting above .450, and the team has 39 extra base hits in just nine games played. Braxton Vail, Dax Davis and Johnathan Gonzales each have double-digit RBI totals early in the season.

County may be the favorite to win the SCL. They have dynamite pitching and a strong lineup. My major question entering the season was centered on the lineup, but the early returns say there’s nothing to be worried about. If County can continue to pitch well and hit the way they have so far, I have a tough time seeing anyone in Pueblo stopping them.

East Eagles

2022 was a season of ups and downs for the East Eagles. Nine times in 2022, East won by nine or more runs, and they did not lose a game that way all year. They finished 13-11 with a 4-6 SCL record. East finished looking squarely up at Central, County and Pueblo West going 0-6 against them.

Thus far in 2023 the story has been the Casillas brothers. Freshman Diego Casillas is hitting .556 with a ridiculous .750 on base percentage. Junior Matt Casillas has a 2.10 ERA over 13.1 IP and a .515 batting average. Matt leads the team with his 12 RBI. Senior Michael Casillas led the SCL with his .541 average last year, this year he’s hitting .385 and leads the team with 21.1 innings pitched at a 2.30 ERA.

East has a ton of speed on the basepaths with 42 team stolen bases so far. The Eagles have a deep lineup, hitting .419 as a team through 10 games. East is 6-4 to start their season in out-of-league play. The offense is clicking and the team has some incredible individual performers, but to avoid the same story as last year, more pitchers need to step up. If you take out Matt and Michael Casillas’s innings, East has allowed 32 earned runs in 16 innings pitched between six pitchers. This team, no doubt, can threaten the best teams in the SCL and has some of the most talented individuals in Pueblo.

Pueblo West Cyclones

Under Dan Sanchez, Pueblo West has become the class of Pueblo high school baseball over the last decade. Pueblo West is facing a season of change as the last players from the 2019 championship team graduate. The Cyclones went 17-7 last year with a 9-1 league record. They split their series with County, that being their only blemish in league play.

This team is full of new faces, they only returned two offensive starters from their team last year. Pueblo West is 4-5, but they have played very tough competition. Andrew Plutt and Gage Martinez are key players this year. Plutt hit .446 last year but has struggled to a .286 average over the first nine games. Martinez is hitting .379.

Plutt is the team’s leading pitcher with 18.2 IP with a 2.62 ERA; he has 33 strikeouts in those innings. Ryan Stark and Jaiven Baca are stepping into the second and third starter roles early in the year.

Pueblo West has dealt with great players leaving many times and Dan Sanchez seems to have a knack for developing more. Freshman Logan King has been a huge surprise early in the year, hitting .474. The team is hitting .299, after hitting .390 last year. For West to hold off County and Central, they will need the offense to wake up and new contributors to step up. Pueblo West will still be a major factor in the SCL.

South Colts

2022 was a disappointing season overall for the Colts, finishing 8-14 with a 1-9 SCL record. 2022 was the second consecutive season with a 1-9 league record. There are major reasons for optimism with South entering league play in 2023. South is 6-3 in their league schedule, with a few impressive wins under their belts.

This team is very senior-heavy in 2023, with nine of their twelve major offensive contributors being in their last season. Senior Roman Mora returns for the Colts; he hit .462 and stole 24 bases last year. Kaleb Ortiz is hitting .417, leading the team in RBI and extra base hits.

Keller Ausbun and Anthony Martinez have stepped up as the key starting pitchers for South. Ausbun has a 4.55 ERA and 35 strikeouts in just 20 innings. Martinez has a 3.50 ERA in three starts. Justin Arellano has emerged as the teams best reliever, pitching to a 2.27 ERA in six relief appearances. South’s team ERA was an unsightly 6.80 in 2022. In 2023, that number was halved, and now sits at 3.78. The pitching is the key for South, this team gave up ten or more runs in 7 of 10 league games last year. This veteran team is playing well early, and if the pitching can keep up their early improvement, South could make some noise in a crowded SCL.