Lindbergh senior Tommy Kawamura has been on the mound before; he’s even told coach Benny Benavides he can pitch. Benevides didn’t believe him.
“I didn’t know Tommy threw. He always joked around. He would get on the hill and do some crazy things,” Benavides said. “I never really took him seriously.”
Until this season that is, when the Eagles lost four pitchers to graduation that threw more than 90 percent of the team’s innings last season.
During the first two weeks of tryouts, Benavides looked around and asked himself, “Who’s throwing?” Then he finally listened to Kawamura and made him the team’s ace this season.
Still, Kawamura is only one pitcher, and the Eagles will likely struggle on the mound this season.
“We’re not overpowering on the hill,” Benavides said. “So our defense will have to be good and fundamentals will be key.”
Catching the inexperienced pitchers will be seniors Kyle Bernal and Devon Goods. The two have been fighting for the starting role since they were freshmen.
“Those two are identical, same height, same build,” Benavides said. “We just need to clear the room and tell them to go at it and figure out who wants it.”
Kawamura, who plays shortstop when not pitching, will be the heart of Lindbergh’s offense. As a junior last year, he batted .464 and led the team in runs (29), RBI’s (22) and triples (6). He also stole nine bases.
Isaiah Williams will play first and third while providing power to the lineup. Benavides hopes he can bring his impressive batting practice power to the real game.
“We’re counting on him to really explode with his bat this year,” he said.
Other key players are Nikko Kis-Young and Bakari Davis.
Key newcomers include Matt Stuart and Derrick Holt, both freshmen.
“We have some good athletes, they just need to grow up,” Benavides said. “I want to say it’s a rebuilding year, but I think every year in high school is a rebuilding year.”
