The baseball team has a new field, a new season, and a new opportunity to defend last year’s conference championship.
Coming off of last season with the title for the first time since 1979, the Trojans are ready to do it again.
“We’re going to win it all again,” Coach Dino Nomicos said optimistically. “We are one of the more experienced teams in the league. We will make it at least to the playoffs.”
Realistically though, Coach Nomicos says that they are fully able to win the championship title again this year.
Fifteen players are returning from last year’s team; 14 new players joined the team this season. There are a total of 30 players on the team. The whole infield consists of returning players, and the two starting pitchers are also veterans.
“The team has gelled, one player doesn’t stand out from the rest of the team,” Coach Nomicos said.
To describe Skyline baseball in one word, Coach Nomicos says that word would be “Dorst.”
Steve Dorst is a returning shortstop after starting as a freshman on last year’s championship team. Nomicos praises Dorst as a great team leader.
Another great returning player is Chris Dubon, a catcher for the Trojans. Dubon is a second year starter.
“If you want to win in baseball, you need a good shortstop and a good catcher,” Nomicos said.
The season starts on Feb. 4 with the team playing their first three games against Barstow. Coach Nomicos said that since the team has a new field and were the champions last year, a lot of teams will be looking at Skyline as the team to beat.
“Some teams are going to treat a game with us like it’s the seventh game of the World Series,” Nomicos said.
Coach says that a problem with that is that some teams will work very hard to beat Skyline while the Trojans may go into a contest against a supposed easy team not mentally prepared for what the other team will bring.
To work against that, the team is put through a demanding practice schedule in the preseason to develop their skills. As Coach Nomicos figuratively describes it, the baseball program is a “blue collar program.”
“We work 9-5, with a little overtime,” Nomicos said. “We work hard. We care about each other. The players play hard for me. I know they will go out and play hard and the result will be ‘W’s. If we lose, that’s ok, it’s a learning experience. I want [the guys on the team] to come out of this having done well in school and be developed. I push academics. If you don’t go to school, you don’t play.”
The baseball team is ready to face Barstow in their first three games. All three are played at home. The first one will be Friday Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m.