Robert Brodell Brawley Union High baseball
AGE 16 | SCHOOL Brawley Union High | GRADE 11
BRAWLEY — The Brawley Union High baseball team had a full plate last week, playing four games and opening its defense of yet another Imperial Valley League title.
The Wildcats finished the week with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating two local squads and San Ysidro in a double header on March 25.
Helping Brawley to the wins was shortstop and pitcher Robert Brodell.
In an 8-7 win over Calipatria, Brodell went 1-4 with one run scored and in a 4-2 win over Southwest High, the junior starter went 2-3 with one RBI and threw a complete game going seven innings, giving up just one hit, zero earned runs and recording six strikeouts.
“I always try to go as far as I can,” said the 16-year-old regarding his mentality when he is on the mound. “For the Southwest game, it was our first IVL game of the season, so it was important to get a win. That first IVL win is always the toughest to get.”
The three-year letter winner said while his arm was feeling fatigued in the later innings, he worked to stay calm and keep the Wildcats in the game.
The complete-game win is the second already this season for Brodell, who also pitched against La Jolla on March 14 in a 5-3 victory and finished with an astounding 10 strikeouts.
“I always focus on just getting the three outs and not letting the other team score,” Brodell said.
Brodell also contributed to Brawley’s second win against San Ysidro going 1-1 with one RBI.
“We were all just really relieved after the second game,” Brodell said with a smile. “We had four games so we were all pretty stressed out, wondering how we were going to do it with our pitching.”
As of Friday afternoon, the Wildcats are now 8-3 overall and 2-0 in league action.