First-round loss disappoints baseball team

Danny KarelStaff WriterAfter winning 10 of their last 14 games, the Vikings looked like they had finally gotten into the stride they had been searching for since the start of this year's rocky baseball season. However, last Friday the 20th, they were knocked out of CIF in the first round against Montebello, a team that many expected to soundly defeat."We had our opportunities, had the bases loaded a few times, but we couldn't get runs across," coach Sheldon Phillip-Guide told the Santa Monica Daily Press. "They certainly took advantage of their opportunities."The Vikings ended the season with a perfect record in league, 10-0, finishing overall with record of 13-17.Despite the disappointing first-round loss, most players have managed to take it in stride, anticipating next season when the majority of varsity will be comprised of veterans. Seven underclassmen played starting positions on Friday, which is the highest number of underclassmen starters to be seen in a first-round CIF game in many years.Sadly, for most seniors this is the last season that they will play together, as the majority of the team won't be advancing to the next level."I have been playing with a lot of these players since I was really young," senior Nick Herrera said. "So this isn't the end of a season, it's the end of baseball together for a lot of us."However, through baseball these players have forged bonds that will last beyond the end of the season; they have grown together as players, but also as people. As Herrera so accurately put it:"We're basically family."dkarel@thesamohi.com