The baseball team finished 0-10 in the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League and 0-11 overall.
According to senior pitcher Jack Christian, low team morale early in the season played a large role in the winless record.
Low morale resulted from losing senior pitcher-shortstop Nate Jakobs, one of the team’s key players, to a knee injury, Christian said. Jakobs suffered a partial medial collateral ligament (MCL) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear while skiing in February and missed the first nine games.
Because of low morale, the team “didn’t have a lot of people showing up to practices or games,” Christian said.
Christian acknowledged busy schedules also led to subpar turnouts.
“(Regardless, team members) just didn’t seem that into baseball this year,” he said.
However, as the season continued, Christian said players became more committed, attending practices more often. Therefore, Christian added, the team played better.
“People were happier and more excited to come out and play no matter if we won or lost,” Christian said. “The end of the season was really fun.”
According to junior third baseman Aaron Graves, Jakobs’ return helped morale immensely.
“It was such a big morale boost to have Jakobs back, as he’s one of the more experienced players on the team,” Graves said.
Sophomore first baseman Avi Krishna agreed, especially because Jakobs played well despite his ongoing recovery.
Coach Chris Millsback declined to comment on the season.
Christian and Jakobs were the team’s top hitters, batting .667 this season. Christian was 6 for 9 and Jakobs 2 for 3.
Senior outfielder Alex Rogawski led the team with three RBIs.
Junior Max Kemnitz had the lowest ERA of the team at 4.20. He also caught.
Although the Cavs went winless, Christian and Jakobs agreed that despite some setbacks, the team enjoyed itself.
—By David Situ
Originally published in the May 28 edition of the Octagon.
