INDIANS ACE GETTING UP TO SPEED
Prep baseball notebook: Storm cancels games; Hart pitcher recovering from illnesses
Mid-week downpours have rescheduled multiple games across the Foothill League.
Valencia and Golden Valley’s game has been rescheduled from Wednesday to Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Golden Valley.
West Ranch’s Friday-afternoon game against Valencia has also been rescheduled to Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Valencia.
Hart’s Collins recovering
It’s been a slow process getting Hart pitcher Bryce Collins back on the mound again – but that’s OK with the Indians.
Collins battled a serious case of mono in the winter that kept him out of school and hindered his preseason preparations. He threw in a few games as the preleague season opened up, then caught the flu.
Since then, the Hart coaching staff has kept a close watch on his progression. He started against Golden Valley in the Indians’ second league game of the season, allowing one hit while recording six K’s in three innings.
“For right now, he’s trying to build up his health, build up his arm strength and get involved in a league game where it’s a little bit of a high intensity situation,” said Hart coach Jim Ozella.
At the moment, the University of Arizona commit is limited to around three innings per game – a restriction that Ozella hopes to have lifted by after spring break.
“We’re not going to rush this,” Ozella said. “This kid’s got a bright future and the whole situation … 2018 has been a rough test for him, but he seems to be on the positive side right now.”
It’s unlikely Hart will play on Friday due to a rainy forecast, but
Collins could get a start next week against either Valencia or Canyon.
“A lot of that depends on how he recovers,” said Ozella. “It’s a give and a take, a
push and a shove and it’s all depending on Bryce and his health.”
Cats back on track
After losing by one run to Hart to open the league season on March 14, West Ranch has gone on a three-game win streak to right the
ship again.
The Wildcats shut out Saugus 5-0 two days after the loss to the Indians, then followed up with a defeat of Calabasas 12-2 on Monday at The Master’s University.
Nikko Clarke had a double, single and three RBIs in the game, while Ryan Camacho had a triple, single and one RBI and
Nicolas Perez added a home run.
Resuming Foothill League play, pitchers JD Callahan and Trent Bird’s efforts fueled the Cats to a 12-0 win over Canyon on Tuesday.
Will Chambers ripped two home runs, a double and tacked on six RBIs. Christos Stefanos had a double, single and two RBIs.