Our Canyon Crest Academy Baseball team has had quite the season, facing various obstacles; yet they still have fought their way to the end. With an 18-14 record, the Ravens team will take on Coronado High School in the 2016 CIF Semi-Finals today, May 31st, at 3:30pm. Coronado has an impressive record of 26-8, but our Ravens have yet to let this get in their head. Facing multiple teams with intense winning streaks and playing records has not put our team down. Our Ravens will have the ability to test their strength in the final CIF game, taking place this Friday, June 3rd. This game alone has the grand ability to claim our Ravens as the 2016 CIF champions.
The first game of 2016 CIFs took place last Wednesday, May 25th. This game was fought against San Diego High, and our Ravens unfortunately were unable to come through with a win. Losing 2-1, the players may have felt discouraged, but rose above their dismay and came back with a win in the second game of CIFs. A 7-6 win against Brawley led our Ravens to the third game against San Diego High once again. Taking in their second win in CIFs, our CCA baseball team won with an impressive score of 8-2. This impressive comeback demonstrates the large amount of confidence our team has in bouncing back from any performance less than stellar.
Beginning the season with playing some of the less threatening teams, the Ravens then progressed to play more daunting and skilled teams. However, this did not stop the boys from continuing a steady streak of winning and learning from losing, which qualified them for CIFs.
After a long spring season, prolonged due to qualification in CIFs, the CCA Baseball team has stood their ground the whole way through. Adversity seems to be a recurring theme throughout the season for our baseball players. Both the good and the bad have driven these Ravens towards success, and have shaped them into one of the leading teams in San Diego.
Towards the end of March this year, Head Coach Mike Hymes left his position as leader of our baseball team. In replacement, Ryan Mikkonen stepped forward to guide our Ravens towards victory. The additional two coaches, Matt Malott and Joey August, have aided in alleviating the stress of losing the team’s head coach in the beginning of the season. After losing their coach, the baseball players still managed to uphold their strong record.
After a Canyon Crest Academy graduate donated funds towards building a clubhouse for our Ravens to reside in throughout their off-time, the team found a place to bond and a home for their strategies. CCA baseball player, Sammy Benbow, notes that the clubhouse has allowed the team to come together as one and further strengthen their bond. He attributes the team’s wide success to the players’ ability to stay together as a team through the various obstacles they have gone through as a team.
Dedication and confidence has lead our Ravens to achieve a spot in the semi-final CIF game; they aim to honor the Canyon Crest Academy athletics program. Please show support for our team at 3:30pm at Coronado High School today, as our team takes one step closer towards becoming champions.