Baseball:

To say the St. Francis baseball program has struggled of late would be quite the understatement.

In 2020-2022, the Golden Knights had an overall record of 18-48, and a 10-31 mark in Mission League games.

It’s been 14 years since the last time SF had a winning record (16-13), and the program had a break-even mark of 12-12 back in 2011.

Shaun Kort has taken over the reins, and through the first 11 games, the Golden Knights have already matched the 2022 win total of six games.

They’re 6-5 overall, and 3-3 in league games, which included a 5-4 victory over Harvard Westlake on March 1st.

I asked Coach Kort to answer the following questions: What has gone right so far? Who has stepped up individually and what are their contributions? And what has made you most proud about the 2023 Golden Knights?

Said Kort: “Our pitching has been pretty consistent. Our defense has improved. Our hitting has been getting better each week. Our team really cares about each other. You can see it on the field and on campus.

Pitching:
Lucas Dixon: 3-0, with a 1.05 ERA. 20 IP, 12H, 3ER, 8 walks, & 23 strikeouts
Caleb Thatcher: 2-1, with a 3.29 ERA. 21.1/3 IP, 18H, 10ER, 10 walks & 16 strikeouts
Kalani Quiroz: 0-0, with a save and a 3.50 ERA. 8IP, 6H, 4ER, 3 walks & 7 strikeouts
Xander Douglas: 1-1, with a 1.31 ERA. 10 2/3IP, 8H, 2ER, 9 walks & 9 strikeouts

Hitting:
Lucas Dixon (DH): .382 BA,.436 OBP, 13H, 9 singles, 4 doubles, 4 runs, 9 RBIs
Holden Deitch (2B): .344 BA,.436 OBP, 11H, 9 singles, 2 doubles, 10 runs, four RBIs & 7 stolen bases
Jordan Lewallen (SS): .266 BA,.452 OBP, 8H, 2 doubles, 5 runs, 2 RBIs

Defensively:
Jordan Lewallen and Holden Deitch have been a great staple to the middle of our infield. Jordan Viramontes has been really solid at first base, and Dane Shepard and Kalani Quiroz have platooned at third base.
Brody Ruyle has done a great job for us behind the plate this year.
Our outfield has been between four players. Grant Valentine in left, John Calmette (Running Back) in RF, and Caleb Thatcher in CF. Kalani Quiroz Plays right when Caleb Pitches.

The thing that has really been nice about this year is the competitiveness and confidence that you can see day in and day out. I believe we have proven to ourselves that we can beat really quality teams on any given day if we believe that we can, and we are in the best mindset while we go try to execute the game of baseball. The win against Harvard Westlake was huge. The win against Agoura was really well played by us. I don’t think people can come in and say that it’s going to just be easy against St. Francis. We want to be in every game and pick up some wins in the late innings.”

Mission League Standings Through March 13:
Sierra Canyon (9-0-2, 4-0-2)
Notre Dame (8-1, 5-1)
Harvard Westlake (7-3, 4-2)
Crespi (7-1-3, 2-1-3)
St. Francis (6-5, 3-3)
Alemany (3-5, 2-5)
Chaminade (4-4-1, 1-4-1)
Loyola (2-8, 1-5)

This Week’s Schedule:
Wed: Sierra Canyon at St. Francis
Fri: St. Francis at Sierra Canyon
Sat: Sierra Canyon at St. Francis

St. Francis Records:
2023: (6-5, 3-3)
2022: (6-22, 4-14)
2021: (7-21, 4-14)
2020: (5-5, 2-3)
2019: (12-18, 5-13)
2018: (9-20, 4-14)
2017: (9-20, 6-12)
2016: (6-22, 2-16)
2015: (12-17, 3-9)
2014: (9-18, 1-11)
2013: (6-19, 1-11)