After what some would consider a disappointing season last year, the Pueblo West Cyclones’ baseball team is finally starting to click.
The Cyclones transitioned into a Class 5A schedule last year and were not ready to take on that kind of talent all season long. This year, however, there is a spark on the team and the players are starting to rally and believe that this season could be a big one for the team.
“To be honest with you, it's some of the stuff that we were talking about with a group of my juniors and seniors since October, we've been meeting once and twice a week about culture, about how we're going to deal with adversity, how they're going to lead, just the whole process of being a great leader, and try to have the best culture we can as far as for our team,” Cyclones head coach Dan Sanchez said after the Cyclones pulled out a victory over Pine Creek 12-3 Tuesday.
“I believe that's been the big part of (the success). These guys that were all juniors and sophomores, a majority of them sophomores last year, got baptized, and gained experience playing varsity baseball. Now they've grown physically, and now my goal for them is to grow mentally.”
Growing is exactly what this team did. Over the offseason, many, if not all, of the team put in work in the weight room.
One player who has stood out at the top of the team is senior Jaiven Baca. He was one of those leaders who stepped into the weight room this off-season and focused on becoming better, not only for himself but for his team.
"He's been great all year,” Sanchez said. “He's worked hard, physically in the weight room, and he's a good kid; he just kind of does what we ask him to do. Every time he goes on the mound, we have a chance to win.”
So far, Baca has been on the mound three times and has helped the program to two victories including a recent win at home against Pine Creek in which the weather conditions were less than ideal to play ball.
“It was a tough day to play baseball, but we talked about mentally staying strong, we got to be prepared for things like this, and we know that we're going to face adversity,” Sanchez said. “That's why we schedule tough teams, and if we want to go where we want to go at the end of the year, we have got to play tough teams now. That's part of our preparation.”
With it being his last year in high school, Baca says that it's time for him to be a leader and to make it his best year ever.
“I have been showing up to practice every day ready to work my tail off and get better for my team as a whole,” Baca said. “I'm just ...
