Inside the Warrior Dugout by Jamie Hesselgesser and Mike Nickeas

Inside the Warrior Dugout by Jamie Hesselgesser and Mike Nickeas

Hungry to win

Nickeas and Hesselgesser are a catcher and second baseman respectively for the Westlake High School baseball team.

In our last article, we wrote what our expectations where for the season and about the future for our baseball team.

Now after 24 games, we have a

pretty good idea of where we’re at, and if we don’t by now, we never will.

After a shaky start, both in league and in nonleague (4-3-1,0-1-1), our team has finally figured it out. We have managed to win 15 of our last 16 games, only losing 6-5 to the No. 1 ranked team in California, Mater Dei.

Our winning route started after we gave up a 6th-inning 7-run lead to Thousand Oaks which ended up in a loss.

This was a red flag for our squad, realizing that we couldn’t take any team for granted and that every opponent this year was gunning for us. We came out firing the next game when we took Moorpark, 10-1.

That was all but the beginning of our rampage through the first half of Marmonte League, after starting at the bottom. Continuing the snowball effect, we found ourselves head to head with Royal in a showdown at home to determine the first half leader.

Coming ready to play, we beat Royal 10-1, claiming the first half lead.

After our victorious stint at home, it was time to face our next challenge as we traveled up to San Jose to compete in the West Coast Classic. Our goal was to take our first championship of the year, but after beating Antioch and Archbishop Mitty, our 11-game win streak was snapped as we suffered a tough loss to Mater Dei.

Although we went on to take third place in the tournament, the loss to Mater Dei left a bitter taste in our mouths.

Being hungry for a championship, on a recent Saturday at Redondo Union High School, our desire was appeased temporarily. Although it meant a lot to win the Redondo tournament, our team knew we still had a long way to go until our quest was complete.

The second and more important half of league is still up for grabs, and our will to avenge our tough loss at Dodger Stadium in 1998 still lingers in all of our minds.

The way our team likes to view our season so far is the same way a good mile runner looks at a race. It’s not the first three laps that count, it’s the kick in the last lap that wins it all.