Mira Costa pitching staff leads balanced team while Redondo rebuilds
Senior Joey Acosta will be a force for Mira Costa, both on the mound and at the plate. Photo
Mira Costa’s baseball team is seeking a better ending to its season after the Mustangs dropped a 1-0 game to Capistrano Valley in the third round of the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals last year.
Mustang head coach Keith Ramsey has a team loaded with talent. They finished tied with Peninsula for the Bay League crown in 2017.
“We return many quality players including our top pitchers,” said Ramsey, who is in his second year as head coach. “Junior Christian Bodlovich, senior Joey Acosta along with junior Merrick Baldo are top returners on the hill.”
Junior Chase Meidroth, along with senior Sebastian Alexiades and junior Dylan Dennis are some of the top returners in the field.
“We will have three strong catchers in senior Chris Penna, senior Jake Gordon and James Park,” Ramsey added. “We look forward to a great year.”
Mira Costa also has some exciting newcomers in sophomore Kyle Karros, junior Robbie Knowles and junior Nick Carpino.
The Mustangs opened the season with 8-1 and 5-0 victories against West Torrance and are currently competing in the El Segundo Tournament
Mira Costa defeated Lawndale 6-0 on Monday then played West and St. Bernard on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Redondo is looking to return to the level of the 2015-16 teams, which won CIF titles in Division 3.
Now in Division 2, the Sea Hawks also have a new head coach in Andy Diver.
Diver pitched for Loyola Marymount University before coaching at Loyola High School, Harbor College and serving as pitching coach for the University of Arizona
“It’s fantastic to be head coach at Redondo,” Diver said. “I’m very humbled and extremely excited about our team.
Diver will have his work cut out for him as he takes over a team that finished 17-12 in 2017 and were 7-4 in the Bay League. The Sea Hawks lost to Huntington Beach in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs.
Shortstop Christian Dicochea will lead Redondo’s offense. The junior hit .404 while leading the team in hits and RBI last season. Photo
“We have a good defense,” Diver said. “We are a young group with only two senior starters so we’ll be getting many questions answered in March.
The top two pitchers are juniors Andrew Dalquist (6-2, 170) and Jake Thau (6-5, 230).
Redondo’s junior shortstop, Christian Dicochea (5-11, 175), is an all-league standout and the team’s best player, batting .404 while leading the Sea Hawks in hits (38) and RBI (30).
He will bat third in the lineup and is committed to the University of Washington.
Senior starters include first baseman Gabe Pech (6-6, 193) and right fielder Jon Carberry (6-3, 170), while sophomore Brett McCauley (6-0, 187), a transfer from Servite, will have to sit out until April before hitting in the top of the Sea Hawk lineup.
“I know some of the Bay League coaches very well,” Diver said. “Keith Ramsey played for me at Loyola High School and Harbor College. I expect Mira Costa and Palos Verdes to be the teams to beat, but Peninsula will also be tough. We’ve put in a lot of hard work. Now it’s time to play with no fear and always keep improving.”
Redondo opened the season with a 3-2 come-from-behind loss at North Torrance to kick-off the El Segundo Tournament but rebounded to defeat South El Monte 12-2 on Saturday and Carson 4-3 on Monday.
The Sea Hawks will continue El Segundo tournament action Thursday and Saturday.