The MSJC baseball team will be taking the field Friday to open their 2020 season with a new coach for the first time in over 30 years, when they play at home against Ventura College at 2 pm.
Mike Lonsdale will be coaching his first game after taking over for Steve Alonzo, who led the Eagle program for 32 seasons. Lonsdale is excited to get the season going as he, his coaching staff, and players have been working hard since the summer to prepare. Lonsdale gives credit to assistant coaches Jake Hansen and Jared Morten for making his transition into his first year as a head coach a smooth one thus far. "Those two guys have been working very hard with our team to make sure we are ready to go on opening day", said Lonsdale.
As for the team there will be a lot of new faces joining three Eagles who played for the 2019 squad. Joseph Hauck (Rancho Christian HS) returns for MSJC and will start in centerfield on opening day. "Joey is an electric centerfielder", said Lonsdale, "he can really go get it and will be one of the anchors to our defense." Another returner Andrew Shepard (Tahquitz HS), will be the Eagles opening day starter on the mound. The big right hander logged 48 and 1/3 innings a year ago in 11 appearances and picked up three wins. Rounding out the returners in D.J. Downen a first baseman/outfielder who saw limited action last year due to nagging injuries. Downen made 19 appearances and had 37 at bats as a freshman.
A host of talented local products will be playing their first season for the Eagles with a mix of freshmen and transfers rounding out the 2020 roster. Ricky Nunez (Eastvale Roosevelt), a right fielder for MSJC has already signed a scholarship for the 2021 season at Cal Poly Pomona and will add experience to the line-up. Brothers Max and Simon Rangel will also add experience to the new group as both are transfers from Cal State San Bernardino. The pair graduated from Temecula Valley High School. Simon is a catcher and Max a talented right handed pitcher. Lonsdale said of Max, "He is one of the more talented pitchers in Southern California and he will be fun to watch on the mound this year." "He is recovering from some arm issues currently, so we will have to wait a little while to use him, we want to make sure that he is at 100% before we get him out there, because we feel he has a very bright future." The Eagle coaches are excited about their pitching depth headed into 2020 as they will also feature UC Riverside transfer Alex Banuelos (Rancho Verde HS) and a pair of Paloma Valley grads in lefty Travis Shaff-Brown and righty Brandon Reyes.
The Eagles local flavor doesn't stop on the mound as MSJC is expected to start freshmen Fabian Correa (San Jacinto HS) and Aaron Harper (Hemet HS) on the left side of the infield with Harper manning shortstop and Correa at 3rd. Ajay Parcero (San Jacinto HS) and Nathan Baker (Heritage HS) will be moved around to different spots on the field, but both are expected to be impact bats in the middle of the order.
"For a new staff and not having very many returning players, we seem to have jelled well and are excited about starting the season," added Lonsdale. "We have a lot of new players, but we are not as young as it seems with a nice mix of transfers to go along with the freshmen."
When asked what the keys to the season will be Lonsdale said; "We need to stay healthy through our non-league schedule so that we are at full strength when the conference starts in late February." "I think our challenging early season schedule will get us prepared as we move forward and one of our biggest strengths should be our pitching depth."