by Luis Hernandez, Managing Editor

The St. John Bosco Braves baseball team is wrapping up their first season with new Head Coach Andy Rojo, who has over 20 years of experience as a coach, with their first CIF Playoff appearance since 2017.

“It’s been a terrific experience coaching a motivated group of players who were excited about a new change in the direction of the program,” said Coach Rojo.

They are currently 17-10 after their first round playoff victory and finishing fourth in the Trinity League. MaxPreps currently has them ranked as the number eight team in California. The team has very impressive wins this year, including victories versus league rivals like Orange Lutheran, who is currently ranked the number one team in the state and seventh in the nation by MaxPreps.

The Braves beat the Lancers 8-2 at home in their last regular season game. The bats were hot that day with sophomore Jaden Jackson scoring two runs and having an RBI. Pitcher Anthony Cosme was throwing heat, making Orange Lutheran’s impressive offense look stale. 

The Braves offense has been stellar thus far, players like junior Macade Maxwell have been amazing. He leads the team in batting average with a .474 and an on-base percentage of .574.  

On the other side of the ball senior pitchers Anthony Cosme and Jack Champlin have had great seasons with an average of a 1.84 ERA between the both of them. Senior outfielder Julian Villasenor has also been efficient with a fielding percentage of .982.

While this team may seem dependent on its upperclassmen that is not the case with this team, as they are loaded with young talent.

Julian Garcia, a pitcher who is a sophomore, leads the team with 48 strikeouts and is improving with every throw. He believes that the team is very resilient and is excited to have a bigger role in the upcoming season. Coach Rojo also praised Julian saying he has had a tremendous impact on the season.

“I think this season has been pretty good. We have been successful and had a couple of tough losses, but we bounced back and we are looking good,” said Julian.

While the team’s record may not look special, they have only lost once against a team ranked outside the top 25 in the state and the Trinity League is one of the most competitive leagues in the country. 

The Braves have a few tremendous wins under their belt, including a 7-2 win earlier this month against the “Team in Red” who are ranked seventh in California. The game was a testament to the hard work and grit the team has been playing with this season.

“We accomplished our first goal, which was to end the regular season with a winning record. Our second goal was to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and we did. Now we play bonus baseball and will see how this team can finish the year,” Coach Rojo said.

The Braves were able to complete both their goals, and they’re currently making the most of their “bonus baseball” with a dominant game in the first round of the playoffs against Grace High School. Bosco won 14-0, due to the batters playing excellent and not missing a beat from the regular season.

The offense was not dependent on a few people either, as ten different people scored a run with Pepperdine-commit Zach Woodson leading the team with three runs.

The pitching could not have been better, only allowing five hits the entire game and obviously no runs. This was impressive, because in the game prior to facing the Braves, Grace scored a ridiculous 25 runs.   

Bosco is facing Corona Del Mar High School in the second round of the playoffs at home today at 3:15pm.

The Sea Kings have an overall record of 19-9 and are on a seven-game winning streak. They dominated Burbank High School with a 6-0 shutout of their own in the first round.

The site of their potential quarterfinal game against either Fountain Valley or El Segundo is yet to be determined.