With a lot of new faces, the 2019 version of the Reedley College baseball Tigers begin the new season this weekend.
Head Coach Steve Pearse's squad travels to Oakland Friday for a 2 p.m. season opener at Laney College. The Tigers will face College of Alameda on Saturday at Laney before a 1 p.m. matchup on Sunday with Sierra College on a neutral field at Skyline College in San Bruno.
The home opener is set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31 against Bakersfield College.
The 2019 Tiger roster features eight players from the 2018 squad that tied for second place in the Central Valley Conference with a 15-6 record and an overall mark of 28-15. The biggest concern is pitching as the Tigers return hurlers with just over 31 innings of experience out of the 339-2/3 innings pitched last season.
The only veteran pitchers are Andrew Mendoza (Sanger, 2-1) and Masyn Ashworth (Clovis, 1-1).
Pearse said he may try the "opener" concept used by a few major league teams last season. A reliever would pitch one inning before a spot starter and other pitchers from the bullpen finish the game.
One of the starting pitchers will be Alex Escobar, a freshman out of Central Catholic High School in Modesto.
"After that, it's tough," said the coach. "We will see what happens."
The returning position players are led by catcher Mitchell Crawford, who played in a community college all-star game in Elk Grove last October. As a freshman, Crawford batted .273 and drove in 20 runs.
Other veterans include infielders Hans Brown (Immanuel), Nick Martinez (Madera) and Josh Mares (Selma, who hit three homers in 2018), catcher-first basemen Gabe Grijalva (Fresno, .269) and outfielder Hayden Ashcroft (Minarets).
Among the top newcomers include Blake Costa (OF, Tulare Western), Deagan Risnes (IF, Lake Arrowhead), catcher Danny Gamez (Clovis East), outfielder Jake Renteria (Buchanan), third baseman Henry Degnan (El Cerrito) and infielder JT Aranda (Selma).
The Tiger coach is looking for more consistency from Renteria, the son of former Tiger Athletic Director Javier Renteria. "Jake has all the tools," said Pearse. The coach added that Gamez "has as good of an arm as anyone we've had here."