Coach John Knott Faces Tough Decisions as Bonita Freshmen Post Another Convincing Win

Victor Magallanes gave up just two hits over five innings of work.

Bonita head baseball coach John Knott faces one of those good news/bad news dilemmas. The good news is he has a number of talented underclassmen playing on the junior varsity and freshman teams to fill roster spots left open by Bonita’s eight departing seniors. The bad news is he will have to make some really tough decisions.

Those decisions were made even tougher as the freshmen team once again flexed its muscle in a 15-0 win over the Walnut Mustangs on the Bearcats’ home diamond.

While Victor Magallanes was shutting down the Mustang offense with a combination of fastballs and breaking pitches, his teammates were scoring in all but one inning.

Clean-up hitter Jacob Blunt did most of the early damage for the Bearcats, driving in the the team’s first three RBIs with a single in the first and a two-run double in the third to give Bonita a 3-0 through three innings.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Bonita delivered the Manny Pacquiao knockout punch with six runs, highlighted by a three-run homer from Justin Row over the left-centerfield fence. Also in the inning, Brandt Davis doubled and Michael Baudino and Magallanes singled.

As was the case again in a phenomenal season that has seen the freshman Bearcats drop just one game, there were many multi-hit heroes in this latest showcase of the team’s talents. Both Row and Joe Rodriguez collected three hits, while Parker Merritt, Blunt, Baudino and Magallanes each had a pair.

Michael Baudino stroked a pair of singles and collected two RBIs.

Outside of two errors by the Bearcats, the team’s performance was flawless. Justin Row closed out the game for starter Magallanes, who surrendered just two hits in his five innings of work.

In three years, head freshman coach Adam Zeuli, an 8th grade social studies teacher at Ramona when not wearing the Bearcats uniform, has lost a total of three games, helping keep Bonita’s baseball cupboards full of talent.

“There’s plenty of talent in this program,” Zeuli said, moments after guiding his team to another convincing victory. “This is a good team, a very deep team. Everyone can play a position – one through 15 – on the team.

“I never had a problem or a worry about who I put in the field. Everybody is strong on this team. The hardest part is making sure everyone gets enough playing time. Everybody deserves to be out there.”

While Bonita collected 15 hits, Zeuli cautioned not to overlook the team’s outstanding pitching.

“Today it was Magallanes; he’s been solid for us all year,” Zeuli said. “So has Sam (Stavang), he’s been tops; you didn’t get to see him today. And we have plenty of other pitchers.

“It’s really hard to point to any weakness. I have nothing but good things to say about every player on this team,” he added.

“So, coach Knott is going to have some tough decisions the next couple of years. Thank goodness it’s not my problem.”

The Bearcats received big-game performances from, left, Justin Row, Jacob Blunt and Victor Magallanes.