Tokay High School - Tokay Yearbook (Lodi, CA)

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Pitching leads team to victor Despite a O-3 start, solid pit- ching, strong hitting, and ag- gressive base running were all keys to the success of Tokay's freshman baseball team accord- ing to Hobie Schultz, first-year head coach, and George Leon, assistant coach. l would say that our strongest point this year was our pitching, said Coach Leon. When league came around, everybody's bats started clicking. Our hitting was decent to start out with. said Coach Schultz, We had good team speed and were very aggressive on the bases. Defensively, Coach Leon said that they had both a solid infield and outfield, making the team solid in all aspects. Our pitching depth gave us an advantage this year, said Coach Schultz, who played ba- seball at the University of Pacific last spring. We had three good starters, and another three quality relieversf' The six pitchers who Coach Schultz was regarding were: Ja- son Firsich, Ryan lvlerin, Chris- topher Banks, Chris Terry, Cory Jones, and Jason Vargas. i'We improved every game, which was positive, said Coach Schultz. Our first couple wins in league were a confidence boost for the players. The rain early in the season really didn't affect us, said Coach Leon. i'We don't play as many games as the sophomores or varsity. We are able to make up our rainoutsf' by Tim Skamel Photos by Steve Chesley l. Pitcher Chris Terry delivers out unner out at third base. 3, Andy 4. Hobie Schultz, first-year head of the stretch. 2. Nicolas Gomez, Steinheimer stands in the batters coach, analyzes one of his batter's third baseman, forces a Lodi baser- box awaiting the pitchers delivery. swings. 178 Q f f Aww. Qfyy i 'F T

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N 3 5. Sophomore team members are front row James Lee, Steve Crisp, Kevin Hayes, Todd Sandman, Billy Griffitts, Jesse Gomez. Row two Joshua Webb, Craig Stevenson, Steven Massei, Derek Saville, James Warren, Bill Moore, David Duran, Coach Argust Smith. 6. James Warren leans into one as he takes a called strike, Sophomore baseball 1986 TOKAY 5 Burbank 7 Elk Grove 8 Valley 7 Hiram Johnson T2 St. Marys i 1 Tracy 5 Lincoln I5 Edison' 20 Stagg' 8 St. Marys' 2 Lincoln' 8 Stagg' 9 Franklin' 3 Lodi' 6 Tracy' 33 Edison' 13 St. Mary's 9 Lincoln' 9 Tracy' 24 Franklin' l l Lodi' ' denotes league game verag infi ld pt team close Taking the field with a weaker team than last year's champion- ship team, Tokay's freshman! sophomore baseball team was expected to finish no higher than third place, according to Argust Smith, second-year head coach. Realistically, he said, we're looking no higher than a third place finish. Lodi and Lincoln were the teams to beat this year. lf they knocked each other off, we figured we might have a chance to slip in there, he added. Last year, as the San Joaquin Athletic Association champions, the Tiger Cubs were ll-3. They had a team batting average of over .360 However, their bats weren't swinging nearly as well, according to Coach Smith. Our strength was that we had a good, average infield, he said. lt wasn't outstanding, but it got the job done. Early in the year, the Tiger Cubs first four games were all decided by one run. Fortunately, three of the games were victor- ies, and Coach Smith added, We didn't blow anyone out this year, we stayed in most games and kept them close, One of the team's top all- around players was Stephen Crisp, a pitcher and second baseman, who, according to Coach Smith, swung the bat reallywellf' by Tim Skamel Sophomore Baseball 177

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