The UC High Boys Baseball Team is back in full swing, and have got right to work in the new season despite facing some difficulties.

    Senior Nico Villalobos said, “It has been a little challenging for us so far. Coach Frink is just returning from an extended absence due to COVID, and some of our guys are still getting the rust off from not playing in awhile.”

   Most varsity players found that despite the pandemic, nothing much changed. Senior Jack Siironen said, “Practices and games during COVID-19 aren’t too different. The only change was the fact that we were required to wear masks when close to each other. There were no supporters allowed to attend for some of the games which sucked.” Villalobos added, “Other than wearing masks, nothing really changed because baseball is a sport where players are spread out most of the time.” Senior Jeff Jabaay said, “Games and practice have felt normal. There wasn’t much of a difference compared to years past.”

   Siironen emphasized that UC High has a great future with all three levels having solid players. He said, “I felt like tryouts went really well. A lot of talented players showed up, and we have three really good teams.” Jabaay added,  “I think we are going to have a solid season, and you never know what can come.” Villalobos  said, “Tryouts went great. I saw a bunch of young players with potential who can hopefully keep UC competing well in the future.”

   On the UC Boys Baseball Team, players agree that having a good attitude is critical to performing well. Villalobos said, “Skill is definitely needed, but without a hard working and winning attitude, it is hard to succeed.” Siironen continued, “I think that baseball is more attitude based rather than skill based. I think you need talent to compete, but at the end of the day, the team that wants to win more is going to succeed.”

   Jabaay said, “I feel that our whole League is our rivals.” Siironen shared, “I would say our rivals would just be every opposing team in League play. League play is what gets you into the playoffs, so the competition in those games is extremely high.”

   During their practices, the team works hard to sharpen their skills. Siironen said, “During practice, we work a lot on the fundamentals of baseball. We also work on game-like situations to improve our knowledge of the game itself. Other than that, we usually practice defense and hit.” Jabaay said, “During practice we just work on the fundamentals and get prepared for our next opponent to put us in the best place to win.”

   Siironen said, “I think the whole team is full of star players and there aren’t any players who are better than anyone else since we are a team.” Villalobos continued, “The team is full of stars.”