The Bonita Vista High School baseball program is celebrating its 50th anniversary season in 2017. The Barons have set aside May 10 as alumni day to honor some of the team’s most notable players and coaches.
Bonita Vista has had two alumni reach the hallowed ranks of Major League Baseball — pitchers Joel Zumaya and Guido Knudson, both with the Detroit Tigers.
Zumaya, known for his 100 mph fastball, played in three games in the 2006 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He retired following five seasons in the major leagues due to an accumulation of various injuries.
Knudson, who attended UC San Diego following his playing days at BVHS, has played for nine teams in the minor leagues since starting his professional career in 2011. He received a call-up to Detroit in 2015 and appeared in four games before being claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He is currently a free agent.
The Barons have several alumni currently playing either in the minor leagues in the United States or professionally in Mexico.
Oscar Sanay won a Mexican World Series title with the Puebla Parakeets last year.
Matthew Ball, a 2013 BVHS grad who struck out 119 batters and compiled a 0.86 earned-run average his senior year, has played with four teams in the minor leagues since being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2013 MLB first-year player draft.
Baron head coach Vince Gervais said he and his staff have uncovered a wealth of information while researching past players in the program and reaching out to them via various social media platforms.
“We’re using Facebook to contact as many ex-baseball players as possible,” Gervais explained following Monday’s 5-4 come-from-behind non-league victory against visiting Marin Catholic. “We’ve talked to former coaches and gone into The Star-News archives, in fact, to pull together enough names for a Hall of Fame.”
Larry Roberts, for trivia seekers, was the first baseball coach at Bonita Vista, starting in the late 1960s, through the 1970s and into the 1980s, according to Gervais.
Want another teaser? David Woodhouse earned San Diego Section Player of the Year honors in 1986.
The Barons are working on a future class for their upcoming Hall of Fame this season. Monday’s win raised the team’s record to 8-9.
Bonita Vista finished 1-2 in this year’s 67th Lions tournament with a 6-3 win over Mission Hills, a 6-5 loss to Patrick Henry and a 4-3 loss to Encino Crespi in 6A Division play.
The Lions tournament, the largest high school boys baseball tournament in the United States, took place April 10-13.
Impact players this season include senior pitcher Alex Verdugo (committed to Long Beach State), sophomore third baseman Omar Vega, junior first baseman Isaac Burow and sophomore centerfielder DiMaggio Cazares.
“It’s a young team this year — we only have four seniors,” Gervais said. “We’ve had some growing pains. Our pitching staff, led by senior Alex Verdugo, has kept us in games.”
The Barons used a two-run sixth inning on Monday to slip past Marin Catholic. The Bay Area team held a 4-3 lead before Ken Daplas and Chris Luna scored for the hosts to put them up by a run.
Verdugo hit a towering shot to the outfield to score Luna on a sacrifice fly to account for the win.
Freshman Nate Nankil took over in relief of junior Chris Andersen in the top of the seventh inning to preserve the BVHS lead and pick up the save.
Nankil, a key contributor in Sweetwater Valley Little League’s trip to the 2015 Little League World Series and a member of last year’s Emerald Pony-13 World Series championship team, recorded a ground out and strikeout to get two quick outs.
However, he allowed a single and walk to put the potential tying and game-winning runs on base before ending the game on another ground out.
The Barons started three freshmen in Monday’s non-league game, including Chula Vista South Pony standouts Eric Nakano and Bubba Villegas.
Metro Conference
Baseball Standings
(Through April 19)
Mesa League
Eastlake 1-0, 16-3
Otay Ranch 1-0, 10-8
Hilltop 1-0, 10-8
Montgomery 0-1, 11-8
Bonita Vista 0-1, 8-10
San Ysidro 0-1, 7-11
Wednesday, April 19
Eastlake 7, Bonita Vista 2
Otay Ranch 1, Montgomery 0
Hilltop 8, San Ysidro 2
South Bay League
Chula Vista 4-1, 15-6
Mar Vista 3-2, 9-10
Castle Park 2-1, 12-6
Southwest 3-2, 12-9
Mater Dei Catholic 1-2, 6-14
Sweetwater 1-3, 8-9
Olympian 1-4, 11-10
Monday, April 17
Olympian 3, Chula Vista 1
Sweetwater 6, Southwest 2
Mater Dei Catholic 18, Mar Vista 4
Wednesday, April 19
Castle Park 4, Olympian 3
Chula Vista 5, Mar Vista 1
Southwest 6, Mater Dei Catholic 3
Non-League
Monday, April 17
Bonita Vista 5, Marin Catholic 4
Saturday, April 22
Sweetwater at Eastlake, 10:30 a.m.
