By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor It’s no secret that Maranatha has the Pasadena area’s best and deepest roster this season. The Minutemen are 19-5 overall, and those five losses came by a total of seven runs. Maranatha (8-2 in the Olympic League) is just one-game back of Village Christian (9-1). The Minutemen handed the Crusaders […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
It’s no secret that Maranatha has the Pasadena area’s best and deepest roster this season.
The Minutemen are 19-5 overall, and those five losses came by a total of seven runs.
Maranatha (8-2 in the Olympic League) is just one-game back of Village Christian (9-1).
The Minutemen handed the Crusaders their only (league) loss of the season on March 24 at Village Christian, and they finish the season next week with two games head to head for the Olympic League championship.
What separates Maranatha, which is ranked No. 2 in the CIF-SS Division 4 poll from the pack is their depth both offensively and in their bullpen.
We’ll cover their pitching staff next week in a separate story.
For now, we focus on a Maranatha offense that is hitting a collective .374 and has eight players with a better than .300 average.
While batters one through nine have all done damage at the plate, there are three guys who especially pace the Minutemen offense.
Sophomore Max Blessinger, junior Marco Martinez and senior Eddie Lopez are all hitting above .450 and they have a combined 99 hits.
If you saw Eddie Lopez, you’d likely never guess by his youthful appearance that he is a senior.
The Maranatha designated hitter, though, is an assassin with a bat in his hands.
Lopez is hitting an area-best .536 with 37 hits, 28 RBI and 16 doubles.
In all four of those categories, he is the team leader, and with three regular season games to play, Lopez already has 23 more hits than all of last year.
Lopez also had to swallow his pride and accept his role as the designated hitter.
Like any competitively-driven athlete, Lopez wanted to contribute in the field as well as the batters box.
It’s something he also believes adds more pressure to his at-bats.
“When you’re only able to produce offensively, it’s something that, to me, makes all my at-bats even more crucial, because I want to do everything I can to help this team win games,” Lopez said.
His work ethic and stats are something that helped earn Lopez a scholarship to New Mexico Highlands, which allows him to continue his baseball career at the collegiate level.
His father Eddie and mother Martha have made it possible for Eddie to focus on just school and baseball.
Martha Lopez is someone Eddie especially looks up to, and it’s her work ethic and success from his mother that drives him.
“My mom has always been an example of how hard work pays off,” Lopez said. “She does so many things to make it possible for me to do what I do. While juggling being a mom with kids in sports, she earned her Masters Degree and along with our dad, has provided so much for our family.”
Things haven’t always come easy, and he’s even had emotional conversations with his coach, Matt Shupper.
But they worked through issues and Lopez said he’s become a better player and person because of the leadership of his coaching staff.
“Most kids don’t have the maturity to stay focused in a baseball game from start to finish, most adults can be grouped into that mix too,” Shupper said. “Eddie stays focused and isn’t on the field more than half the game. He’s also hit safely in 19 of 21 games, as well had 11 multi-hit games.”
As a senior, Lopez is more than aware that this is his last shot at a CIF ring, and he plays every game like it’s his last.
He’s also more proud of his coaches and teammates for the way they carry themselves than even their success on the field.
Blessinger is what every team desires from a leadoff hitter.
The sophomore second baseman is hitting .472 on the season with 34 hits, 30 runs, 30 stolen bases and 14 RBIs.
Blessinger is just six stolen bases from breaking a school record, and his on-base percentage is .543.
“Max is the prototypical leadoff hitter,” Shupper said. He makes solid contact, can draw a walk, see pitches and can run. Sums it up easy, but Max is so much more. He sets the table for our offense and is one of our toughest outs. He is a student of the game, and has a very high baseball IQ.”
Despite being just a sophomore, Blessinger already has 70 career varsity base hits and 59 runs scored.
Blessinger wanted to thank all of his teammates and coaches for making the Maranatha baseball program a family.
But his biggest fans and the people he draws most of his inspiration from are his parents, Dan and Michelle Blessinger.
He see’s his role as getting on base, getting into scoring position and playing a solid second base.
“I see the hard work had paid off for the team and myself,” Blessinger said. “This doesn’t mean I am content, and do see lots of room for improvement. At this point in the season, we can concentrate all of our effort into playing tenacious baseball. I think we’re capable of going all the way. That isn’t to say that it will not be a challenge. We have the tools, desire and coaching, we just need to execute.”
Martinez is hitting .459 with 28 hits, 19 runs, 22 RBIs, 5 doubles and 2 Triples.
He has a team-best .585 on-base percentage.
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Martinez is very able on defense, as the Maranatha third baseman.
His steady play on the field and at the plate have earned Martinez a scholarship to play at USC in 2019.
And as impressive as Martinez has been in general, his offensive production in Olympic League games are off the charts.
He is hitting .755 in the nine league contests.
“Marco is a power and contact hitter all in one,” Shupper said. “That is what Marco brings to the lineup. He could honestly hit 2, 3 or 4 and probably have nearly identical production. He is easily one of the top hitters in the area and further.”
Martinez was out the first time Maranatha played and lost to a Whittier Christian team that doesn’t really match up to the Minutemen and their depth.
So, what kind of an impact did Martinez make in his next game back against that same Whittier Christian team?
He went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and he drove in four to help lead Maranatha to a 9-1 victory.
“My roles offensive are to produce all across the board, get on base, drive runners in and provide some power,” Martinez said. “I am trying to do everything I can to help us win games. One of the things I’ve realized about this team is we can’t stop pushing to score runs.”
Martinez is alluding to a couple games Maranatha lost, despite having late-inning leads.
Just like Lopez and Blessinger, Martinez gets his cues and inspiration from his parents, Elsa Blount and Ozzie Martinez.
He said they’ve always taught him how important an education is, because baseball will be over one day, and that his education is what he’ll be able to fall back on.
“My parents have always made it clear that being a good person and student is much more important than anything I could ever do on a baseball field,” Martinez said. “And Coach Shupper, outside of my family, has been the biggest influence on me. He’s pushed me and supported me in my spirituality, athletically, academically and personally.”
All three players believe if the Minutemen play ‘Maranatha baseball,’ which is doing all the little things right, that they’re more than capable of winning a CIF title.
And while Blessinger, Martinez and Lopez have produced all season, they know they are just one piece in a large puzzle that it took to get to this point.
Casey Popham (.327 average, 16 hits), Dante Campione (.404, 19 hits), Trevor Marrs (.344, 21 hits), Kalani Chang (.360, 18 hits), Charles Acker (.343, 24 hits), Dawson Netz (.281, 18 hits) and Ben Guess (.279, 17 hits) have all contributed to Maranatha winning 79-percent of their games this season.
Next week, we’ll take a look at the Maranatha pitching staff in another feature.
Until then, Maranatha will face off with Valley Christian at 6 tonight, and they not only hope to win an Olympic League championship, more importantly, the Minutemen want to head into the playoffs playing their best baseball.
In spite of all the success, and the gaudy numbers they’ve put up, the most impressive part of this program is the character and dignity that each player and coach possesses.
Getting To Know Eddie Lopez:
Favorite Team: Dodgers
Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw
Favorite Movie: Emperor’s New Groove
Favorite Musical Artist: The Weekend
Most Surprising On Ipod: Arianna Grande
Famous Person I’d Most want conversation with: Michael Jackson
Getting To Know Max Blessinger:
Favorite Team: Dodgers
Favorite Player: Rafael Furcal
Favorite Movie: The Big Short
Favorite Musical Artist: Migos
Most Surprising Artist On His Ipod: Eminem
Famous Person I’d Most Like A Conversation With: Daniel Murphy & Russell Westbrook
Getting To Know Marco Martinez:
Favorite Team: Dodgers
Favorite Player: Normar Garciaparra & Pete Rose
Favorite Movie: American Sniper
Favorite Musical Artist: Lil Uzi Vert
Most Surprising Artist On His Ipod: Eric Church
Famous Person I’d Most Like A Conversation With: Kobe Bryant
Maranatha’s Remaining Schedule:
May 4: Valley Christian vs Maranatha at Brookside Park at 6
May 9: Maranatha at Village Christian at 4
May 11: Village Christian vs Maranatha at Brookside Park at 6
Olympic League Standings:
Village Christian (18-4 overall, 8-1 in league)
Maranatha (19-5, 7-2)
Valley Christian (13-11, 3-6)
Heritage Christian (11-14, 3-7)
Whittier Christian (12-15, 3-8)
