Working through infield drills a week before its season opener, Paly’s baseball team is in the final stages of a months-long effort to improve on last year’s 7-16 record.
The Vikings finished strong in 2006, racking up four wins in their last six games, after enduring a rough preseason. Long losing streaks marked their early record, with the Vikings winning only three of their first 17 games. That is something head coach Dave Jefferson wants to change.
“Last year we lost a lot of tight ball games,” Jefferson said. “We are really trying to just get everybody in great shape and make sure we can get into stride early.”
To prevent injuries and build a better offensive lineup, Jefferson has instituted more rigorous off-season workouts that include endurance running and more time in the weight room. Some members of the team even played in a winter baseball league in Santa Cruz to get back into the rhythm of the game.
“We’ve started to get the bats going,” Jefferson said. “A lot of guys tried to come out here in February last year to prepare for a [mid-February] game.”
Last year, Paly’s late-season surge was attributed largely to players coming back from injuries and to an improvement in the team’s execution of routine plays. This year, the objective of winter league play has been to stay healthy and to begin the season prepared to make hits and outs.
In addition to increased training time, Jefferson has also scheduled games against more demanding opponents before Paly’s league opener against Fremont, which finished 8-7 in last season’s league play.
“I look to schedule games against tough opponents,” Jefferson said. “I don’t try to pad our early schedule.”
The Vikings will open this season with three games against challenging opponents in the first week of play. Their first rival, Westmont, finished under .500 last year, but Paly also takes on St. Francis and Serra, who finished 19-12 and 24-6 respectively.
Jefferson wants to open against talented teams this year to prepare the Vikings for their first league game against Fremont on Feb. 29. Last year, Paly finished last in the SCVAL De Anza division, with a league record of 5-9.
“Our goal is just to come out and make routine plays, [and] understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” Jefferson said.
The Vikings are also a more experienced team this year, with at least three seniors who are returning for a second season on the varsity squad. The team is also awaiting younger players who may try out after the basketball season ends.
Senior catcher Peter Abrams feels that older talent will play and important role in helping the underclassmen avoid last year’s conditioning mistakes and build winning records for several seasons to come.
“Senior leadership is going to lead the team to victory this year,” Abrams said.
With a combination of better training and prior experience, the Vikings’ primary goal is to improve their overall league standing. According to senior infielder Tyger Pederson, the team hopes to extend last year’s late winning streak into this season.
“We’re looking to really just turn it around this year,” Pederson said.