JSerra has all of the elements of a great team.
Now the Lions have to put those elements together on the field.
“This team has a chance to be the best team we’ve had,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said. “We’ve got 10 starters back, when you include the pitchers. But we haven’t played anybody yet.”
While most Orange County teams this month have been playing nonleague games or in the Loara or Newport Elks Tournaments, JSerra has yet to make its 2015 debut. The Lions play their first games of the season today when they host Loyola of Los Angeles in a doubleheader. They are at home against Huntington Beach for a doubleheader on Tuesday.
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More in the 2015 O.C. baseball preview:
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JSerra plays in two of the nation’s better tournaments, the National High School Invitational in North Carolina later this month and the Boras Classic next month.
Kay likes the Lions’ chances to do well in those tournaments and in the Trinity League.
“I love our team,” he said. “I’m really excited about this season. At the same time, complacency is a worry of mine.”
And early-season projections mean nothing later.
“I want us to do what Santa Margarita did last year,” Kay said, “which is holding up that CIF championship plaque after the last game of the season.”
Around the horn in county baseball:
• Also considered for the county preseason top 10 were, in alphabetical order, Beckman, Capistrano Valley, El Dorado, Esperanza, Fountain Valley, Mission Viejo, Orange Lutheran, Servite, Tesoro and Valencia.
• Also playing in the National High School Invitational (March 25-28) are Huntington Beach and San Clemente.
• The Boras Classic’s South Division part of the statewide tournament will be played at Mater Dei and JSerra, April 7-10. County teams in it are Aliso Niguel, Huntington Beach, JSerra, Mater Dei and San Clemente.
• The Hard Nine Classic, which began in 1990 as the National Classic, is April 4-9. Cypress and Santa Margarita are in that one.
• The Anaheim Lions Tournament has grown to 80 teams. It will be played March 28-April 1. The tournament was first played in 1975.
• The Santa Ana Elks Baseball Classic is back after being off of the schedule for a few years. It is a 16-team tournament, April 4-8, that includes all six Santa Ana public schools.
• The Coast View Conference is made up of 10 schools with two leagues within the conference. Membership in the Sea View and South Coast leagues varies by sport. The baseball Sea View League this season includes Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Hills and Trabuco Hills; the South Coast League has Aliso Niguel, Capistrano Valley, Dana Hills, El Toro and Tesoro.
• The Century Conference comprises eight county schools with the Crestview and North Hills leagues in the conference. The Crestview League’s baseball teams are Canyon, El Dorado, El Modena and Esperanza. The North Hills teams are Brea Olinda, Foothill, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.
• This week’s CIF-Southern Section rankings have three county schools at No. 1 in their divisions: Dana Hills, in Division 1; San Clemente, Division 2; and Crean Lutheran, Division 6. County teams No. 2 in the divisional polls are Aliso Niguel, in Division 1; Beckman, Division 3; and Sonora, Division 4.
• Two county teams won CIF-SS championships last season: Santa Margarita, in Division 1; and Capistrano Valley Christian, Division 6.
• Capistrano Valley Christian returns six starters from last year’s CIF championship team. Among them are AJ Discenzo, who pitched a no-hitter in the Eagles’ 5-0 win over Sierra Canyon in the Division 6 championship game.
• The CIF-SS playoffs begin May 19 and conclude with championship games on June 5 and 6 at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
