Redondo repeats as baseball champions
Redondo players celebrate with their 2016 CIf-SS Division 3 Championship plaque. Photo
It took 100 years for Redondo Union High School to win its first CIF championship in baseball but in 2016, the Sea Hawks won their second in a row.
Although Redondo returned a strong nucleus of veteran players such as Jason Dicochea, Jacob Springman, Marco Valenzuela and Danny Zimmerman, the Sea Hawks received a breakout season from an unlikely source.
After seeing limited playing time as a junior, senior Sean Reynolds drew attention from colleges and major league scouts.
The 6-foot-8 right-handed pitcher finished the season with a 1.08 ERA striking out 94 with only 16 walks in 84 innings leading the Sea Hawks to back-to-back CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championships.
In the championship game at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, top-seeded Redondo (31-2) edged Woodbridge 2-1 behind the arm and bat of Reynolds. The right hander hurled a five-hitter with four strikeouts to improve his season record at 13-0 also scoring the winning run.
“Sean’s been fantastic for us all year,” Redondo coach Jeff Baumback said after the game. “He’s come a long way, really improving in all phases of the game. He grew so quickly that last year he just didn’t have the coordination to be consistently effective at the plate or on the mound. In the last 12 months he became very athletic and gained control of [his] big body. He has become a special talent.”
Senior Sean Reynolds finished the season with a 13-0 record tossing a five-hitter to lead Redondo to its second straight CIF-SS Division 3 championship. Photo
Reynolds said his velocity increased at least 10 miles per hour his senior season bring it to 90-92 mph but his confidence level was the major reason for his success. At the plate, Reynolds batted .366 with 34 RBI and nine home runs,
“The experience of winning last season (2015) was amazing, but this year was the greatest feeling in the world,” Reynolds said. “To make the final out and be part of such an amazing team is more than I could have ever dreamed of. The only thing better than the talent we had on this team was the energy and camaraderie.”
Reynolds had signed to play at Rice University but opted to go pro after being selected by the Miami Marlins in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Redondo’s senior-laden team turned in a record-setting year hitting a school record 29 home runs while batting .316 as a team. Zimmerman, a junior who plans to attend Michigan, set the single-season home run record with 11 round-trippers and also led the team with a .443 batting average.
Baumback believes his team’s 31 wins and Reynolds’s 11 wins as a pitcher are also school records.
Santa Clara–bound Jason Dicochea batted .389 while leading the team in doubles (14) and stolen bases (8). Marco Valenzuela, University of Nevada commit, led the Sea Hawks with 40 RBI and batted .367.
Redondo also received strong seasons from Matt Hanniff and Jacob Springman who batted .307 and .284, respectively.
Reynolds led a pitching staff that had a combined 1.32 ERA and was supported by Zimmerman (6-1, 1.67 ERA) and Long Beach State-bound Connor Riley (6-1, 1.91 ERA).
Back-to-back CIF titles have set the bar high at Redondo yet Baumback feels his younger players will benefit from a long playoff run.
“We had great seniors in 2015 and they influenced this group quite a bit,” Baumback said. “This group of seniors is incredible; it’s really like coaching college players. They have been great role models and mentors to our younger guys.” ER