Experience, Depth Give Warriors New Life in 2023

By Brandon Petersen

2022 was a trying year for the Westcliff baseball team. 

Beginning with fall ball, and coming off a banner inaugural year that included wins over national champion Chapman, as well as Concordia, it looked as though the Warriors were poised to make noise in their first year of Cal Pac play. 

But then tragedy struck over Christmas break, when starting pitcher JJ Sanchez — whom many considered the emotional heart and soul of the team — passed away as a result of an automobile accident in Northern California. 

The loss of Sanchez devastated the team and the coaching staff, and although they played through it as best they could, it was obvious to anyone in and around the program that overcoming the loss would be impossible — the season seemed almost inconsequential. 

Time has done a lot to heal those wounds. 

Westcliff has been infused with a ton of new talent, and those fresh faces have helped the Warriors move on collectively from the past and to once again expect a bright future. 

"(The loss of Sanchez) affected many of us more than we realized," Westcliff head coach Dave Shermet said. "After last year, we have a lot to look forward to this year. The feeling is 180-degrees different — we have a lot of new players and our expectations are high."

And for good reason.

The Warriors are loaded with upperclassmen and have an incredible amount of talent up and down the roster. Shermet will enjoy in 2023 the best hitting team he has coached at Westcliff. 

If the starting rotation can eat up quality innings, the Warriors have a good shot to compete for a playoff spot in the always-tough Cal Pac. 

"We were voted to finished eighth out of nine teams," Shermet said. "So we will have an uphill battle ahead of us."

But at Westcliff, beating expectations has become almost routine. 

The baseball team was one of the very first programs to prove that three years ago. Now they have an opportunity to declare their detractors wrong once again. 

"Our expectations this year, and every year, are nothing short of winning a championship," Shermet said. "Get better every day and make the Cal Pac playoffs. Then, move on to the national playoffs. Same as last year, will be the same next year."

The Warriors have a number of major contributors returning. 

Trey Harmon has been a stalwart at cleanup for the Warriors the past four years — that won't change in 2023 as the hard-hitting slugger returns for his graduate campaign looking to once again lead Westcliff in long balls. 

Keith Hale and Ray Moore Jr. are consistently lethal bats from the middle of the order and Daniel Esqueda returns to lead-off after opening a lot of eyes a year ago with his contact, speed and defense. 

Joe De Francisco enters his sophomore season as a favorite to win the starting shortstop position. Although De Francisco is young, he is nonetheless well-respected among his teammates and will be a vocal leader. 

Speaking of leaders, Jack Barrios returns behind the dish to provide a rock-solid battery-mate for a starting rotation that is filled with a number of new names. 

One of those new names won't be Desi Garcia, however. Westcliff's southpaw No. 1 is a classic location pitcher with a nasty off-speed repertoire. 

"Desi has been our ace — he's an innings eater," Shermet said. 

Evan Rocha also returns for the Warriors, providing a bat that can hit up and down the lineup, but may be best-suited hitting behind Esquada in the No. 2 hole, because of his combination of consistent barrel contact and speed. 

Senior Nolan Wasson is a talented infielder who will challenge De Francisco at shortstop. Regardless of where he fits defensively, the Warriors will want his potent bat in the order. 

Caleb Castanchoa is another player Westcliff will have a hard time keeping off the field. The rangy first-baseman has deceptive speed and an underrated bat from the left side. Castanchoa is a great clubhouse guy, well-liked among his teammates. 

"We have no captains this year," Shermet said. "That's not to say we didn't elect any, because the team voted and we did. But they renounced their captaincies as they believe we have an entire team of captains, and everyone should lead."

That trio of vote-leaders was Rocha, Eddie Vokes and Ulysses Duran. 

Vokes is a junior right-handed pitcher from Reno who has been in the program for three years. This year he will be called upon as a spot starter and in long-relief situations. 

"Eddie is a quiet but effective leader," Shermet said. "A lot of guys look up to him. He knows when to speak up and when to let his actions speak for him.  He's a great representation of what we want to be as a program."

Duran was an all-conference performer at Marymount University a year ago — one who gave the Warriors fits a season ago. 

With Marymount no longer in existence, its players needed new homes, and Duran felt the drive to Orange County was as far as he needed to go to find a new home. 

A few more newcomers include Eddie Rios, an innings-eater out of Chico State. Parker Haskell, who can play anywhere on the field, including the mound. Then there's Julian Tristan, an impressive athlete who joined the Warriors from UC Santa Clara. Tristan is a flamethrower who also doubles as a big-time threat at the dish. 

"This should be a productive year for us," Shermet said. "We have a much older team with nine Master's (degree) students and many other upperclassmen. 

"We are expecting our experience to carry us to the playoffs."

The Warriors will be thrown straight into the fire when the season begins. 

Opening series include showdowns with Vanguard and Hope International, who are currently ranked 16th and 10th, respectively, in America. 

Soon afterward, Westcliff will square off with Chapman.

"We will find out right away where we stand," Shermet said. "I value a difficult schedule early. It will help us when we get to conference play. We'll learn a lot about ourselves, and how to adjust to the highs and lows."

The season begins Jan. 27th at 2 p.m. at Great Park Baseball Stadium, one of the best collegiate baseball facilities on the West Coast. 

If you can't make it Friday, the Warriors will host a double-dip against Vanguard Saturday starting at 11 am.

A doubleheader against Hope ensues on Feb. 3rd, and the Chapman series will start on Feb. 17th.

The Cal Pac season kicks off on Feb. 23rd, when the Warriors host Benedictine at the Great Park.