Another season of action on the baseball diamond is under way for several local scholastic teams. At La Jolla Country Day School, head coach John Edman fields a team that went 18-16 a season ago, finishing 5-3 in the Coastal League for second place. The 2009 edition will look to the likes of Ben Sweeney (hit .407 last season), Derek Hatfield (hit .311 and scored 32 runs as a lead-off hitter last season) and JT Kelley (strong defensive first baseman) to lead the way. Despite graduating eight players from last year’s roster, Edman expects several newcomers to make an impact, including Anthony Torres (catcher, shortstop, pitcher), Mac Anderson (pitcher) and Jason Gilberg (pitcher/center fielder). “While we graduated eight solid ballplayers who will be difficult to replace, we have had some strong junior varsity teams over the last few years with players poised to fill the shoes of our graduated seniors,” Edman commented. “This year’s team loves to play the game and will play hard day in and day out. We are a scrappy bunch with a bright baseball future that will hopefully begin this year. Our season will hinge on the development of our deep pitching staff that will include eight different players who will see innings on the mound. Our greatest strength will be a very solid defense.” At La Jolla High School, head coach Gary Frank and the Vikings finished 20-10-1 (8-4 in the Western League for second place) last spring. La Jolla fell in the CIF quarterfinals to El Capitan. Key players this season look to be 2008 Western League Pitcher of the Year Patrick Christensen (17-6, 2.10 ERA over the last two years), Robbie Beathard (.370 batting average, .495 on-base average, 13 stolen bases) Dustin Ouellette (third base/pitcher), Kyle Zimmer (first base) and Aaron Steigerwalt (catcher). “We have a talented but inexperienced team following our second consecutive 20-win season in 2008,” Frank remarked. Only two everyday starters return to the same position as last year in Beathard (center field) and Stephen Foster (right field). Zac Zlatic makes the move from second base to shortstop, while Steigerwalt should be a solid contributor as he makes the jump up from the junior varsity, according to Frank.   “We’ve got a great group of guys, and they are working very hard to improve every single day,” Frank added. “We have the talent to have another very successful season.” At The Bishop’s School, the Knights under head coach Al Gomez went 12-11 last season, making it to the second round of the CIFs. Some key players this season look to be senior catcher Cade Sears (First-team Coastal League in 2008), senior outfielder Sam Brier (First-team Coastal League in 2008), senior starting pitcher Demian Tschirn, junior shortstop Chris Ludwig, junior outfielder AJ Chedrick, sophomore pitcher/third baseman Kyle Gantz, freshman utility player Joey Moreno and freshman pitcher Shane Dillon. “We’re very excited about this season,” Gomez remarked. “We have a very young but athletic group of baseball players. Sound defense and pitching with some offensive execution will keep us in ball games this year. Chris Ludwig and Justin Horowitz will take care of the defense up the middle, Sam Brier is a solid presence in the outfield, and Cade Sears will be running the defense from behind the plate. Demian Tschirn and Peter Fraga will be our senior presence on the mound.” University City High under head coach Joe Radovich looks to improve on last season’s 10-18 record. Key players look to include senior first baseman David Washington, who has homered twice in three games so far this season along with Vince Rizzo, Sean Baumes and Jonas Noack, who all had multiple RBIs in a pair of losses.