“This is th best freshman team I have had in 10 years.” — John Vanoncini, Manager

By Doug Ahlgren
STAFF WRITER

With a promising lineup of freshmen ready to take the field and a few key sophomores returning, the City College Rams baseball team is optimistic about making the 2009 playoffs after coming up just two games short last year.

“The talent level with this team is higher than it’s been in the last few years,” said team manager John Vanoncini, who is entering his 9th season as Rams skipper.

City College finished under .500 with an 18-21 overall record last season, (11-14), but the team has two huge holes to fill on the offense.  Leading hitter Jimmy Ly left for California State University East Bay, while Ryan Silver took his school record for stolen bases with him to California State University Stanislaus.

Returning player Barney Evans, starting as catcher, is ready to pick up the slack. The team relies on his powerful hits, but he is also expected to set an example for the 24 freshmen joining the team.

Evans hit a solid .277 batting average last season and led the team with two home runs. He has been recruited by several Division I schools, including University of California at Berkeley and Purdue University.

A graduate of Half Moon Bay High School, Evans was skeptical about the 2009 team making a push for the playoffs, but the team’s improved attitude won him over.

“[The Freshmen] were really cocky, but once they found out what college baseball was really like they mellowed out and we meshed,” Evans said.

Sophomore pitcher Irvin Huerta, who won two games last year for City College, is expected to fill the hole left by last year’s ace Lorenzo Ubungen, who moved on to San Francisco State University. Huerta has been looked at by several CSU scouts and has been chosen as the opening day starter.

Shortstop Eric Lara, from Balboa High School, and first baseman Roger Fonseca, from Burton High School, are two other freshmen expected to make an impact this year. “This is the best freshman group I’ve had in 10 years,” Vanoncini said.

Pat Baca, out of Sacred Heart Cathedral, as well as Nick Mutz and Jake Lefever, both from Rohnert Park, will be the team’s top three freshmen pitchers, according to Vanoncini.

“I’m very optimistic that we are going to have a successful season, and that we’ll learn from our mistakes and grow from it,” Vanoncini said.

Matt Ko pitched nine innings, giving up only two-earned runs. MICHAEL P. SMITH / GUARDSMAN

Sophomore pitcher Matt Ko pitched his final game for City College baseball in stellar fashion, allowing only two earned runs in nine innings as the Rams defeated Canada College 6-4 at Sunberg field in Balboa park on April 29.

“I knew this was my last game for City and I had to go balls out,” Ko said.

By the top of the third inning, Ko (5-5, 4.65) established control of his fastball and curveball, foiling Canada batters into groundouts and flyouts while holding the Canada Colts to four scoreless innings in his third complete game this spring.

Right fielder Matt Armstrong gave the Rams the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning with a sacrifice groundout that allowed third baseman Nicholas Fabian to score from third after Fabian stole second base on a first-pitch strike and advanced to third base on a 2-2 wild pitch.

With third baseman Andrew Ontai (.296) advancing to second base on another wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, sophomore catcher Galen Volpondesta smashed a high fastball into the left-center gap for a one-out RBI double that gave the Rams a two run advantage. Volpondesta went 3-4 with three RBIs in his last game at Balboa Park.

“The pitcher kept trying to throw fastballs inside on me,” Volpondesta said. “I was seeing the ball really good and making adjustments. We have not beaten Canada all last year and this year, so it was good to get this monkey off our back.

”With a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning, Ko’s arm appeared to be tiring after he walked the first two Canada batters. After a sacrifice fly put Canada on the board and with runners on second and third base, Ko left a slider across the plate. The pitch was driven hard to the deep left-field alley. The runners scored, and the three-run lead was lost.

Canada (24-12-1, 12-10) tied the game in the seventh inning, as Ko showed clear signs of fatigue. A one-out RBI single tied the game 4-4 and left runners on second and third base with one out. Second baseman Ryan Silver made a fully extended 10-foot leap to snag a clothesline shot that seemed headed for the right-center alley and tagged out the second base runner for an impressive double play to end the inning.

“It was his last game of his career here,” coach John Vanoncini said of Ko, “and I wanted to give him a shot at his third complete game of the season. I knew he could handle the pressure with runners on base. I knew he could finish strong in the last innings.