As a new season gets under way, Moorpark College has high hopes for a Western State Conference championship in its second year back after a three-year hiatus from baseball.
Anticipating a winning season and encouraged by what he sees on the field, veteran Head Coach Mario Porto seeks vindication after last year’s disappointing finish.
“Our conference is one of the top in all of Southern California,” said Porto. “We have a good nucleus of returning players, and we’ll be deeper, position-wise, with the kids that came in. We always count on the newcomers.”
Listed in the roster as a right-handed pitcher and plays first base, 19-year-old freshman Daniel Cipriano, a 2014 graduate of Agoura High School said is excited and has high exceptions about the returning team.
“We’re returning a good core from last year and I know a number of the guys from high school,” said Cipriano. “Hitting is really what I enjoy more, but I’ll contribute to the team in whatever way is necessary.”
Returning sophomore shortstop Terrell Tate has accepted a scholarship offer to play baseball for the University of Hawaii starting in the fall. Tate, whose family is from Honolulu, said he is also excited about the upcoming season and is looking forward to the opportunity to play at the Division One level next year.
“The scholarship includes 85 percent of everything,” Tate said. “If I do well in school, it could go up. The recruiting process was pretty stressful, but Hawaii stood out.”
Missing from the roster, however, are three key players from last season; infielder/pitcher Thomas Luevano, starting ace Wyatt Berg and reliever Emery Johnson, who all made major contributions to the success of last year’s squad.
“Thomas Luevano got hurt in training, so he’ll be out for the year with a fractured back,” Porto said. “He’ll do nothing for six months and follow that with four months of rehab.”
Porto said that Berg was the only returning player who chose to attend another school to pursue his career goals.
“Wyatt left the program. He wants to be a fireman, so he’s in training over at Oxnard College. Emery was instrumental in getting us some wins last year, but for academic [reasons] is not eligible to play this season.”
Freshman infielders mentioned by Porto included third baseman Blake Chiaramonte, a 2014 graduate of Moorpark High School, and second baseman Alex Alvarenga, a 2015 graduate of Colleyville Heritage High School.
“Alvarenga is a kid from Texas,” said Porto. “His dad played for us in 1995 when Kim Wagner was the coach. He was one of the best catchers we ever had. Chiaramonte is a good baseball player who attended Cal State Northridge and came back.”
Porto also spoke about freshmen outfielders Jack Rosenberg and Jeff Wilson, both 2015 graduates of Thousand Oaks High School. He also mention right-handed pitcher Trevor Weston, a 2014 graduate of Moorpark High School.
“I played for Santa Barbara City College last year,” said Zak Daniels, sophomore pitcher and right fielder. “They have a very good baseball coach. That drew me in.”
Of the new pitching prospects, Porto said that Weston and left-handed Kodi Korndike, a 2015 Oxnard High School graduate, have both been throwing well.
“Wyatt is gone, but we have some pretty good replacements to fill his shoes,” said returning sophomore second baseman Garrett Kueber. “Zak Daniels has come in from Santa Barbara. He does it all. Our goals are to win the conference and go to the playoffs. We don’t want to depend on other teams to lose.”
With the welcome return of outfielder Riley Conlan from Creighton University in Nebraska, the Moorpark College lineup looks awesome. It remains to be seen, however, how raw talent translates to performance between the lines.
“We always expect to win and be the conference champs,” Porto concluded. “We hope we prepare them as coaches so that we can go out there and compete. It’s our second year back and we’re just happy to be playing baseball.”
