CSUSB baseball returns with new faces

By Willis Torres [Staff Writer]

Coyotes will be welcoming their new Head Coach David Martinez as the 2016 baseball season approaches.

Martinez, a graduate of CSUSB, has a strong history as a pitching coach.

He’s worked with universities such as Dixie State University of Utah, University of New Mexico, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Martinez will be working with other members of the coaching staff who include Coach Brett Hambright and Coach Joe Villa.

This will be the first season Hambright will be coaching for the Coyotes. He brings an excellent amount of experience to the field.

Hambright played for Team USA in 2012 and was drafted twice by the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies.

This will also be Villa’s first season with the Coyotes.

Villa played baseball while attending Cal Poly Pomona and worked as a Head Coach for Sunny Hills high school in Fullerton.

The amount of experience that each new coach is bringing to the field for the Coyotes is bound to amplify former Head Coach Dan Parnell’s practices and make for an even better season for the Coyotes.

The previous Head Coach Dan Parnell, retired in August after 24 seasons with Coyote baseball.

Even though the Coyotes 2015 season overall stats were not the best, as the team finished with a 10-39 record, the Coyotes are not discouraged for the road ahead.

The upcoming season for the Coyotes is comprised of nine seniors, two juniors, one sophomore, and two graduate students, most of which are veteran players for the Coyotes.

There are those who have high hopes for the 2016 season like Brian Conely, a sophomore and pitcher for the Coyotes, who has 18 strikeouts under his belt from last season.

“We’re going to be successful as long as we relax and stay within ourselves,” stated Conely.

Some noteworthy Coyote players for the upcoming season are:

Senior Grant Buchanan, who started in all 49 games last season, earned a  California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) honorable mention, and had three home runs against CSU Dominguez Hills. Junior Damion Edmonds  had the highest at-bats last season with a batting average of .292 (56-for-192), which is better than his 2014 average of .250 (7-for-28). Finally, last but not least junior and pitcher Tyler Wells who lead the team with 74 strike outs last season.

The Coyotes first game will be against the Sonoma State Seawolves on Jan. 30 at Rohnert Park located in Northern California, and the first home game will be on Feb. 27 against the University of California San, Diego.

It was during last season that the Coyotes were able to attain 14 hits against the Seawolves and with the anticipation building up for this season, perhaps the Coyotes can double the amount of hits.

With the first game right around the corner for the 2016 season and a fresh new coaching staff in place, the road ahead for the Coyotes looks promising.