Chargers Baseball Team Has Two Aces in the Hole and a Lot to Prove

El Toro High's baseball team is looking to step up and meet several challenges head-on this season.

The Chargers reached last year's CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals, where they lost to Yucaipa, 7-5, on a two-out, two-run, walk-off home run. During league realignment over the summer, El Toro was placed in the South Coast League, which is in Division 1.

In preseason polls, the Chargers were ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Los Angeles Times and No. 4 in the county by The Orange County Register. But thre are some who don't believe El Toro is capable of going deep into the playoffs again. The Chargers were ignored by the section's Division I coaches in their preseason poll.

“That’s our goal, to make a run in the playoffs ,” El Toro coach Mike Gonzales said. “We look forward to having an opportunity to try to win CIF. We’re excited.”

El Toro, winner of the past four Sea View League titles, is expected to be challenged in its new league by Dana Hills, a Division 1 finalist last season. But San Clemente, which advanced to the quarterfinals, Tesoro and Capistrano Valley all figure to battle for the South Coast title.

“We need to do the same things we’ve been doing,” Gonzales said. “I don’t think there’s a huge discrepancy between Division 1 and Division 2 as far as talent level goes. If we’re able to do what we’ve been doing, if we’re able to pitch, play defense and if we’re able to get timely hits, I think we’ll be fine.”

Going into Tuesday's doubleheader (5:30 p.m.) at UC Irvine against Edison, the No. 1 team in Division 1, El Toro's record is 2-2, including a 2-1 victory over Servite. The Chargers also have a doubleheader on March 23 against Mission Viejo, ranked No. 8 in Division 2.

The Chargers’ league opener is March 25 against visiting Capistrano Valley. Last year's South Coast champion, Aliso Niguel, along with Mission Viejo, No. 1 in the county in the Register's preseason rankings, are now playing in the Sea View League.

“I don’t see any team that’s tougher than the other,” Gonzales said of his new league opponents. “I think they’re all really good. They’re all really talented. There’s been a lot of parity. To say there’s one team that’s any better than the other, I don’t see that.”

Nevertheless, there aren't many high school teams that can match El Toro's pitching staff, which is headed by Tyler Brashears and Garrett Mundell.

Brashears, a junior right-hander who was the No. 2 starter behind TJ Kendzora (San Diego State) last season, throws from a three-quarters arm angle. Committed to UC Irvine, the soft-spoken Brashears posted a 7-3 record with three saves last year and had a team-leading 1.64 earned-run average with 57 strikeouts and 17 walks in 72 2/3 innings. He has a fastball that has been clocked in the mid- to upper-80s, a changeup and a curve, but he said his best pitch is his slider.

“I mainly just want to throw strikes, keep our team in games, always be ahead in the count,” Brashears said. “Since we’re new to Division 1, we need to prove to ourselves, and everyone, that we’re good enough to play at that level.”

Mundell, a 6-foot-6 senior who went 3-0 with a 2.80 ERA last season, has committed to Fresno State. He has a fastball that he said has topped off at 91 mph and averages in the high 80s, a slider that clocks in at 81 and a curve that goes 75-78.

“I’m refining my slider and working on a splitter,” Mundell said. “Hopefully, you’ll see that soon.”

Mundell is also working on improving his accuracy, though it wasn't bad last season, when he stuck out 30 batters and walked eight.

The Chargers' No. 3 starter is sophomore right-hander Ryan Kayoda, who threw 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision in a tournament quarterfinal game this season. Brett Hammond, the lone-left hander of the group, will be a key reliever against big left-handed bats, and right-handers Matt Levert, Ricky Schafer, Ben Villines and Daniel Cavazos round out the bullpen.

"Our main priorities are one pitching, two defense and three offense and timely hitting," Gonzalez said. "We’re going to keep that philosophy.”

El Toro lost some big bats last June with the graduation of outfielder and lead-off hitter Chris Manning (Vanderbilt), who led last year’s team with seven home runs and 21 stolen bases, the second-best total in school history, and Garrett Donohoe (Fullerton College), who led the Chargers with nine doubles and whose 95 career hits is third-best all-time.

However, the Chargers' cupboard was not left bare.

Returning is senior shortstop Matt Chapman, a team leader who has committed to Cal State Fullerton. He batted .387 last season with 21 runs, 16 runs batted in and six doubles. With six stolen bases, the most of any returning player, Chapman will bat lead-off.

“I just want to keep our team in the game and lead by example,” Chapman said. “If anyone does anything wrong, we’ll let them know. We just want to be a little more consistent. We’re really good at times, then sometimes we’ll coast. We want to keep everything going."

Senior center fielder Ryan Joyce batted .368 last year with 20 RBIs, and Mitchell Tolman, a left-handed hitting junior who has verbally committed to Cal State Fullerton, is the right fielder. He was the JV's offensive player of the year last season.

“I’m more of a contact, gap hitter,” Joyce said. “I’ll see what my wheels can do. We have a good lineup, one through nine."

Joyce and Tolman, along with left fielder Nick Villar, have averaged sightly more than one error per player per season. The infield's defensive play is just as impressive.

Sophomore first baseman Dan James was named all-league last season, when he batted .310, and second-year varsity catcher Sean Nearhoof will again command the talented pitching staff. Dan Commy will play third base in place of Tim Alhanati, who is recovering from a broken ankle and has been moved to second.

James is also fairly confident in the Chargers' ability.

“I’d say we’re a top team in the county, as far as defense goes,” James said. “We have enough talent to make a run at [a section title]. If we pitch and hit as well as we can, we should be a very tough team to beat.”

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EL TORO'S 2011 VARSITY BASEBALL TEAM

Starting Lineup

1.  Matt Chapman; SS, No. 6

2.  Dan James; 1B; No. 1

3.  Gavin Collins; DH; No. 10

4.  Mitchell Tolman; RF; No. 2

5.  Nick Villar; LF; No. 24

6.  Ryan Joyce; CF; No. 15

7.  Dan Commy; 3B; No. 7

8.  Tim Alhanati; 2B; No. 12

9.  Sean Nearhoof; C; No. 17

Reserves

Jayson Yano; Inf.; No. 4

Devin Schaefers; Inf.; No. 9

Gavin Collins; C; No. 10

James Meager; OF; No. 14

Cole Tomlinson; C; No. 18

Starting Pitchers

Tyler Brashears; RH; No. 5

Garrett Mundell; RH; No. 30

Ryan Kayoda; RH; No. 13

Relievers

Brett Hammond; LH; No. 23

Matt Levert; RH; No. 25

Ricky Schafer; RH; No. 20

Daniel Cavazos; RH; No. 11

Ben Villines; RH; No. 16