By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Maranatha looks every bit the top ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 poll that was released Monday. But ask the players and coaches at Maranatha, and they’ll be the first to tell you that the only poll that would matter to them is being ranked No. 1 at […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Maranatha looks every bit the top ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 poll that was released Monday.
But ask the players and coaches at Maranatha, and they’ll be the first to tell you that the only poll that would matter to them is being ranked No. 1 at the end of the season.
Maranatha is 11-2 overall, and 5-1 in Olympic League play.
In their two losses this season, the Minutemen dropped a 1-0 decision to Bonita, and a 6-5 setback to Whittier Christian.
How did they react to that loss to the Heralds?
The Minutemen swept them last week by a combined score of 21-2.
The reasons for success this season are many.
They are stacked in pitching and offesnively.
Maranatha has a 0.79 team ERA and have struck out 105 batters in 89 innings.
Their big three (Alex Cornwell, Charles Acker and Trevor Marrs) are a combined 9-1 on the mound and allowed a total of eight earned runs.
Dawson Netz has come out of the bullpen and gone 1-1 with a 0.42 ERA, including 27 strikeouts in just under 17 innings.
Offensively, Maranatha has a team batting average of .387, and feature seven starters that are hitting above .350, and five of those are above the .400 mark.
Max Blessinger sets the table at leadoff. The sophomore is hitting .487 with 19 hits and 16 runs, and he’s more than halfway to a new stolen base record with 19.
Eddie Lopez has been incredible, as the senior is hitting .514 with 18 hits, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.
Marco Martinez has 15 hits, 9 RBIs and 9 runs scored, while leading the Maranatha offense with a .517 batting average.
Kalani Chang is batting .469 with 15 hits, and Casey Popham (.348 average) has 8 hits, 8 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Pitchers Charles Acker, Alex Cornwell, Trevor Marrs and Dawson Netz have a combined 40 hits and have driven in 30 runs.
Maranatha is on an 8-game winning streak and has outscored its opponents by a 95-24 margin.
The Minutemen will not play until Saturday, where they’ll face Alhambra in a doubleheader.
As incredible as these numbers and this roll the Minutemen find themselves a part of, to a man, none take the ranking too seriously.
There is only one focus for Maranatha and that’s to get better each day and to be playing their best baseball as they head into the playoffs in the middle of May.
Coach Matt Shupper and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the success the Minutemen have had, and hitting coach Al Quintana is someone many give praise to.
Quotable:
Maranatha coach Matt Shupper: “Our guys were on the brink of something huge and it’s taken us time and maturity to know how to win. We have the pieces and just needed to put them together. Pitching and defense were my top two priorities when I took over.
When you get kids in baseball these days, a lot have played travel ball, and we’re teaching kids the ins and outs of baseball and the guys have really locked on. You have to understand the process to everything, and that’s not always easy for a 16-17 year old kid to understand.”
Maranatha senior Eddie Lopez: “It feels great knowing that Maranatha baseball is finally recognized as a power house in the area. We’ve had just a couple mistakes in our season, but we are where we pictured ourselves to be at this point of time. A huge part in our success is due to the amount of hard work and dedication we put in during the summer and fall. But what sets us apart is our team chemistry, we play for each other and we have each others backs on the field.”
Maranatha junior Marco Martinez: “It feels good to be seeing results like this early in the season with all the work we have been putting in on and off the field. We have really good chemistry and love to be around each other and competing every inning of every game. It’s all fun and games when you have 15 other brothers having fun.”
Maranatha sophomore Dawson Netz: “I think it’s nice receiving this kind of notoriety, but it’s still early in the season and we need to focus on the games we have in front of us in order to have success later on in the year when it counts the most.”
Maranatha sophomore Max Blessinger: “I think we are being rewarded individually and as a team for the work that was put in this summer. In the weight room, the cage, and on the field. That, and the mentality of seizing the moment and realizing this is our season, we get to dictate how it goes.”
Olympic League Standings:
Maranatha (11-2 overall, 5-1 in league)
Village Christian (9-2, 5-1)
Valley Christian (9-5, 2-2)
Whittier Christian (9-9, 2-4)
Heritage Christian (5-8, 0-6)
