The Santiago Varsity Baseball season is under way and the Sharks have just wrapped up the 34th Annual Newport Elks Southern California Tournament. The games started on March 3 and ended March 10, and most of the Sharks’ games took place at the Sharks’ home field. The Sharks went 1-3 in the tournament and 1-2 in home games during the tournament.

In no way does the Sharks record show the true skill of the team both offensively and defensively. Santiago’s loses were against some tough opponents; like their 1-0 loss to Tesoro high school or their 5-2 loss to Gahr high school, who both have a 3-1 record or better. Over the tournament the Sharks point differential was at a -1, which is really good for a team below a .500 record. Santiago also lost two of their games by only one point, showing their strength on defense and pitching, and showing their weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball.

Even with the Varsity team’s early struggles the program must be happy with their JV and Freshman team who both have 4-0 records. Both the JV team and the freshman team have a +15 point differential or better, and have won every game by at least two runs. The two teams also have a combined four wins in which Santiago scored double digits, and the JV team has won two games by more than 11 runs.

The Sharks’ Varsity team now looks to turn the season around as league play is rapidly approaching only a week away. Santiago’s main struggle last year was their league play, getting all nine of their loses against league opponents. The team’s first league game is at the dominant Corona High School against the Panthers who were 2nd in the league standings last year.