CAMPOLINDO
With 25 years of coaching high school, college and American Legion baseball, head coach Sean Riley was familiar with the Campolindo baseball program having coached against them at Serra High. “I knew the tradition was rich and the community is really good with a really good baseball program,” he said. “I’m trying to build something from the ground up; it has gone really well.” With an 8-2 record, Campolindo is currently ranked 18th by the Bay Area News Group.

    After five games, the team had a composite batting average of .224 but Riley has a system he believes in: “We have a process for these guys to hit every day and go through the routines. We’re in the weight room a lot, do different things to get better. I want our batters to be competitive and believe in what they’re doing.”  Since that fifth game, Campolindo’s team batting average has jumped to .319.

    The leading batters going into the spring break are Eli Dudum (.545), Max Olson (.417), Braeden Baldwin (.400), Augie Martinez (.400), and Frankie Polichio (.348).

    Riley is very high on his pitching staff led by Tyler Rogers .027 ERA, Dom Caruso 3.65 ERA, Evan Kelly 2.40 ERA and Brock Artist 3.32 ERA who has been coming in out of the bullpen.

    “We have four really good arms,” Riley said. “The sky’s the limit for Tyler. He works really hard and has matured and is focusing on what’s going to make him better and he has a real upside. Dom has been a mainstay here, Evan has been very good for us, and Brock has done very well coming off an injury last year.”

    Riley’s philosophy for his pitchers is simple: “Get the lead man out and keep the ball down. Strike one’s the name of the game – if you can get the first strike, you’re usually doing pretty well as a pitcher.”

    The Campolindo defense has also been solid. “Hidden is that of our defensive play in tougher innings. As a team things are starting to show from the work we’ve been putting in.”

    The key players on defense have been catcher Augie Martinez, shortstop Frankie Polichio and first baseman Eli Dudum. The outfield is set with Max Olson and Braeden Baldwin and Luke McLeod in center.

    “Augie is a Division I hitter and a very hard worker and his catching inside has gotten a lot better,” Riley said. “Frankie has been a great leader and mainstay for us at shortstop. Eli has been solid at first. Max and Braeden both came off injuries and have played well in the outfield and Luke, in center field, is like a third coach and is as good a leader as I have ever coached.”

    Riley is still looking for the team to continue to improve. “I look at any team I coach and ask if we are going up and getting better at things we need to get better at.”

MIRAMONTE
Having graduated from Alhambra, Miramonte head coach Steve Hammond played in college and professionally for Milwaukee and the Giants, and coached in college. He also founded Bay Area Ballplayers, an athletic training facility in Moraga, so Hammond knew the team very well.

    “I was familiar with almost every player in the program before stepping in.  We’re a young team with only three seniors, but we’ve got good talent. Everybody’s hit the ground running and a lot of our young players have been performing very well early. We have a few current juniors that played varsity last year – a number of them played JV last year and have stepped right into a role on varsity, which has been great.” 

    Taking over a team that was 9-17 last year, Miramonte is currently 9-4.
 
    The pitching staff is led by Alex Heath, .044 ERA, Tres Buster, 1.83 ERA, and Tanner Strand, 2.33 ERA. “We've really leaned on Alex as our starter and after that we've got a lot of depth with a staff that is going to continue getting stronger through the season,” Hammond said. “We want our pitchers to attack their target all game. Once the ball leaves their hands, they can't control it so we try to focus one pitch at a time all game.”
    Billy Duplissea has done a solid job behind the plate and is batting .290. “Billy has been controlling the running game, blocking balls and has been doing a great job for us,” Hammond said. 

    The offense has been led by sophomores Jack Porter .364 and Trey Atkinson .324 and juniors George Gilbert .343, Graham Jenkins .353, and Jonah Imberg .296.

    “We’ve tried to be super aggressive at the plate, hitting the ball in the gaps and get extra base hits,” Hammond said. “We’re getting contributions up and down the lineup. Our top 11 hitters are sophomores and juniors.”

    With so many young players, Hammond is constantly working to establish a set lineup. “We have players moving around in different positions on defense, so we still haven’t settled into specific roles for several players and we’re trying to find who fits in the best role. Ian Hughes, a third year starting shortstop has been the anchor of the defense along with Graham Jenkins and Jonah Imberg in the outfield where they have made several amazing plays.”

    Hammond sees a key area for improvement: “When we’ve lost games, we’ve generally beat ourselves on defense so as people have been solidifying into their roles on defense, we’ve cleaned things up and this has enabled us to be able to execute in all three areas.”

ACALANES
It was a dynamic first year in 2024-2025 for head coach Andrew Feiner. With an 18-11-1 record which included an NCS championship and making it to the second round of the NorCal Championship with a 5-1 playoff record.  With some early injuries, Acalanes started the season slowly, but with some timely hitting and good pitching, they have won their last four games and improved their record to 6-5-1. 

    “I made a really tough schedule,” Feiner said. “I wanted to challenge them with games against De La Salle and Foothill as a way to ultimately get ready for the playoffs.”

    The pitching staff has been led by Riley Gates 1.97 ERA and Branson Smith 2.18 ERA. “Riley and Branson have pitched well and we have a deep staff but we were dealing with a couple of injuries and we’ve had some funky weeks with more than two games.”

    Isaac Copen 2.90 ERA and Austin McManamon 1-0 have filled out the pitching staff and Feiner is looking forward to the return of  and Gavin Beers. Tommy Terhar and Cody Michlitsch are playing other positions until their arms are ready to pitch.

    There are three solid catchers on the roster: Josh Lee, Jasper Stewart, and Dylan Meany. “Josh is a really good catcher and Jasper is just coming back from an injury,” Feiner said. “Meany is also being used at first base.”

    The team’s overall batting average has been disappointing but there is a solid core of leading hitters – Tyler Winkles .375, Tommy Terhar .308, Jimmy Cusumano .278, and Drew Asadorian .300. 

    “We’ve been hitting the ball hard but most of those have been right at people which is the way it goes sometimes and the hits are going to start falling for them,” Feiner said. “Once healthy, we’re going to have a solid lineup and with our young players, it’s just a matter of finding the right pieces that fit. Tyler Tarrab is only a freshman but he’s very mature for a freshman and has shown us a lot.”

    The infield is pretty much all returners but the outfield has been rotating due to injuries. ”Brody Coultas in left, Zach Birrell in center and Paul Bacon in right have been doing a good job,” Feiner said. “They are brand new to the varsity and are going through growing pains but are improving and overall, they’re doing a good job.”

    The key for Feiner is to establish a set lineup. Tyler Winkles has been DH-ing due to a shoulder injury and he and Jimmy Cusumano will be playing short and second. 

    “We just need continuity in the infield at all of the positions,” Feiner said. “We have a lot of options and that’s going to be the hard part but it will be fun part when everyone’s healthy and we’re finding the right guys.”