By Amy Cutillo |Staff Writer|

Coyote baseball has had a season to remember this year.

With a collection of walk-off victories, stellar pitching performances and outstanding individual performances, the team has turned heads and has shown their competitors that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Recently, Darren Dworak and Ethan Chapman added to the team’s successes. Each were given first team All-CCAA honors after a season’s worth of hard work.

Dworak, who plays third base, is currently a senior. He majors in kinesiology and hopes to coach high school baseball.

Dworak leads the team in batting with an unbelievable .356 hitting average and in doubles with 13 according to csusbathletics.com.

With his remarkable season, it’s no wonder why Dworak received such a great honor, which just so happened to be his first conference honor.

Dworak, who has been playing the game of baseball since he was four, expressed his excitement and overall joy over earning All-CCAA honors.

“This is cool and rewarding. Hard work pays off,” said Dworak. “I’ve learned to accept my failures and start new challenges. Learning about the game makes you an overall better player.”

Chapman, who has been playing the game since he was three, is the starting center fielder for the Coyotes. He led the team in five categories which included 179 at-bats, 34 runs, 60 hits, six triples and 13 stolen bases.

Chapman’s impressive season was worthy of his accomplishment, as his individual play greatly contributed to the team’s overall success.

Chapman is currently a junior at CSUSB, majoring in business and sports/entertainment marketing and minoring in kinesiology.

While he hopes to play baseball professionally, Chapman has an alternative plan just in case. He hopes to get into marketing as he feels he can bond on a marketing level with other athletes because of their similar interests and experiences.

Chapman was proud of his achievement, but recognized that the total team effort contributed to his own individual success.

“It’s more of a team thing than an individual thing,” said Chapman. “We work hard, we put up numbers as a team, and once we start hitting, we all start hitting.”

With the positive attitudes they display, and with the overall passion and precision with which they play the game, it came as no surprise that Dworak and Chapman earned first team All-CCAA honors.

Understanding that the game of baseball is about adjusting and learning, both players have found that through patience and perseverance, they can achieve anything.

“In baseball you have to humble yourself. You make mistakes, and it’s tough to accept that. But once you accept it you learn more. You learn to capitalize on every opportunity,” said Chapman.

Both Dworak and Chapman have come a long way, but all of their hard work is starting to pay off.

With strong determination and a humble mindset, they are sure to accomplish many more things throughout the course of their lives.