A school record 37 wins, 12 players who earned scholarships, a player who was named CCCAA Male Athlete of the Month (a first in Ohlone Baseball history) along with a player who led the state in homeruns after taking two years off the game. Then you toss in win streaks of 11, 9 and then 13 in a row, the team’s first outright Coast Conference championship in nearly two decades and home-field advantage in the playoffs and one would think that the 2009 Ohlone Baseball team was going to come home with that State title toward the end of May. However, losses to San Jose City and Cosumnes River in the Super-Regionals ended Ohlone’s chances at that very certain State title. So, with the 2010 season coming up, all we can ask is: What will the Renegades do for an encore? Ohlone was dominant in 2009 in Jordon Twohig’s first year as the Renegades’ Head Coach. The pitching staff held its own, with a solid 3.34 ERA, led by Ohlone Male Athlete of the Year, and First-Team All-Northern California Ian Hoff’s 1.25 ERA. Hoff’s 8-2 record is highlighted by two wins against rival Chabot and a one-hitter against then-top-ranked Sacramento City College. However, of the big-four pitchers from 2009 (Luna, Martin, Hoff and Padilla), only one returns in 2010, and that would be lefty Roberto Padilla. Padilla started slow as a freshman in 2009, starting 0-2, but picked up his first win at West Hills College in late February. He’d finish the season 4-4 in 14 appearances with a 3.64 ERA. The lineup has the experience to be even more dominant in 2010. As a team, Ohlone batted .328 with 322 RBI’s and 35 HR’s in the regular season. By the way, they were a freshman- dominated lineup. Leadoff hitter Steven Ramos returns in 2010 after hitting .376 with 31 RBI’s in 2009 and Cody Foster, who batted in the two-spot last season, returns with his .313 batting average and 33 RBI’s. Then there’s the Johnson twins, Zack and Jeff, who returned to baseball with a vengeance last season. Zack hit .350 with 44 RBI’s for Ohlone in 2009, while brother Jeff led the state in home runs with 19 while posting a team-high .384 batting average and 61 RBI’s. Long story short, Ohlone’s still a national top-20 team with younger pitching
and a more experienced lineup. It will be another explosive year.
By Jeff Weisinger
Editor-in-chief
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