Baseball Team Celebrates Alonzo Retirement Winning 2 of 3 From Desert

Dean of Athletics Patrick Springer (left) and Vice President of Student Services Dr. John Colson (right) present MSJC baseball coach Steve Alonzo with a plaque honoring his 32 years of service as the team's head coach prior to the Eagles game on April 26th.
Dean of Athletics Patrick Springer (left) and Vice President of Student Services Dr. John Colson (right) present MSJC baseball coach Steve Alonzo with a plaque honoring his 32 years of service as the team's head coach prior to the Eagles game on April 26th.
Posted: May 01, 2019

The MSJC baseball team celebrated Head Coach Steve Alonzo's retirement from coaching on April 26th prior to the team's final home game of the season.

The third game of the series against College of the Desert didn't end the way the Eagles wanted, but a large crowd and a nice pre-game ceremony honoring the coach for his 32 years of service seemed to be the most important part of the day.  Dean of Athletics Patrick Springer and Vice President of Student Services Dr. John Colson presented Alonzo with a plaque at home plate prior to the first pitch.  Colson covered many of Alonzo's accomplishments through his three plus decades of work for the Eagles, higlighting his 590 wins, his 32 former players that have been taken in professional baseball drafts, and the over 25 fromer players and assistants he has across the country that are still coaching at various levels.  Springer spoke of the wider impact Alonzo has had not only on the Physical Education and Athletics Department, but also his contributions to the community and his fellow staff members.

As for the games themselves, despite the loss on Friday the Eagles did win the series 2 games to 1.  The series started on Tuesday with an Eagles victory as the downed the Roadrunners 16-7.  Carson McCafferty had a homerun and 3 RBIs to lead the offense while Shawn McAdams also drove in 3 with a pair of doubles.  Devin Combs picked up the pitching victory going 6 innings.  MSJC also won the second game of the series on the road at Desert as they won Thursday 16-9.  Joseph Hauck and Craig Venable both drove in 3 runs and Trevor Castillo had a homerun in the win.  Josue Mercado earned the pitching victory going 3 innings in relief.  The Eagles pounded out 19 hits on the day.  In Friday's series finale MSJC left 12 runners on base as they fell to the Roadrunners 10-7.  Shane Mittleman reached base four times with a two hits and two RBIs in the loss.

MSJC finished up their 2019 season on Saturday as they lost a doubleheader to Citrus College on the road.  MSJC finished the season with an overall record of 18-19, they went 12-12 in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference games.