Samo varsity baseball has gotten off to a solid start this season, posting a 5-4 record in spring training with the regular season set to begin on Tuesday, March 11.

Samo’s 2024 campaign ended in heartbreak following a 4-1 loss to Chino Hills in the Division 5 CIF championship game. The Vikings took the momentum from a third place Bay League finish into playoff season, leading to victories over Nogales, Ganesha, Adelanto and Pacifica en route to the final. Unfortunately, a trip to Chino on May 17 saw them fall just short of their CIF dream.

Samo lost a plethora of key seniors last season, highlighted by Jackson Klein—who mustered two no-hitters along with a 0.62 earned run average (ERA) and 101 strikeouts (K's)—and Theo Smith, who led the team with his 0.382 batting average (BA). A loss of nine graduating players has opened the roster up for last season's top performing juniors to spearhead a CIF redemption run. Head coach Jordan Sigman shared his expectations for those filling the shoes of last year's seniors.

”We expect to compete in every game that we play in and have a very strong group that is very capable of winning the league and the CIF,” Sigman said. “We have some really strong firefly leaders, specifically Isaac Liberman (’25) and Manny Lares (’25). They are fierce competitors and hold the other guys accountable to ensure good effort and focus.”

David Hunzicker / The Samohi
Erick Gonzalez (’25) taking a swing against Palos Verdes High School in a home game at Sealy Field on March 6.

The Vikings suffered a late shock away at South Torrance in their spring training opener, as the Spartans hit an unfortunate walk-off two run home run off Eddie Jennings ('25) to steal the game 6-5. In their two games since, Samo took control early with a couple of monster first innings and elite performances on the mound, leading to consecutive 4-0 and 7-6 victories over Highland and Winward. Gavin Kirtley ('25) had a dominant outing in Samo's home opener, registering a staggering 13 K’s in six shutout innings while allowing just three baserunners. Returning senior Isaac Liberman has set the tone at the plate with five doubles in eight games, and Brady Satinover ('25) has nine stolen bases to his name, picking up where he left off last season. The Vikings have since enjoyed victories over Torrance, Oakwood and Palos Verdes, while dropping back to back games against Capistrano Valley. They will host their home league opener on Thursday, March 13 against Centennial. Blue Hunter (’25) shared his expectations for the rest of the season.

“As a captain I just make sure we’re getting all of our work in and everyone is doing their jobs; we have lots of team bonding activities we do that keep us together,” Hunter said. “Our goal for this season is to win CIF because we lost last season which was terrible, and we’re extremely motivated to win this year.”

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