By Kelly Quach

Staff Writer

  Today, the varsity baseball team will play against El Monte High School at home for their seventh Mission Valley League game.

  On Wednesday, the Eagles faced off against South El Monte High School. Scores were not available during press time.

  The Eagles played against Arroyo High School on March 22, and won/lost, _.

  On March 19, to start off the game against John Muir High School, freshman Elias Diosdado striked out a a few opponents with his pitching. However, when the Eagles stepped up to the plate, they were unable to score runs.

  In the end, the Mustangs were proven to be a challenge for the Eagles as the team suffered a loss against JMHS, 1-10.

  “We need to improve our batting average,” said Coach Mauricio Hernandez. “All we needed was one hit to get us going, but [JMHS] pitcher was really good, preventing us from hitting the ball.”

  The boys batted against Rosemead High School on March 15, and suffered a lost, 7-13.

  “We made a lot of simple mistakes [against RHS],” stated right fielder Jonathan Young. “As a team, we need to focus on the execution of our plays.”

  On March 11, the team faced off against El Monte High School and were dealt another loss, 4-9.

  “We gave it 110%, but in the end, the game just didn’t work out in our favor,” said shortstop Maurizio Iacono, junior. “We look forward to playing against them again in the future.”

  On March 8, the Eagles competed against Mountain View High School and walked away with a loss, 2-3.

  In the game against Baldwin Park High School, the Eagles were defeated, 3-4.

  “Overall, we played a good team, but we knew we could have done better,” stated starting catcher Jacob Saldivar. “There’s always going to be those minor details we should’ve focused on that affect every game.”

  On Feb. 27, the team went up against Marshall High School, and ended up losing, 2-4.

  In the game against Pioneer High School on Feb. 25, the Eagles struggled to keep up with the Titans as they faced another loss, 1-8.

  On Feb. 22, the boys beat San Gabriel High School, 9-1.

  For their season opener, the Eagles played against Bassett High School on Feb. 20, and clinched a win, 7-6.

  Despite the recent losses, this is the first time in five seasons, the varsity baseball team has opened up with two wins in a row.

  Coach Hernandez is in his fifth season as the varsity baseball coach and is working hard to improve the Eagle’s defensive and offensive strategies.

  “We have definitely improved defensively and our pitching is fine,” said Coach Hernandez, “Continuing to practice our hitting is important.”