Jordan Rogers is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Washington High School for AZPreps365.com

This season presents an opportunity for growth and improvement for the Washington baseball team.

Despite the team picking up several 4A Black Canyon recognitions, the Rams were 5-15 overall last season. But head coach Beau Polvorosa mostly attributes that to something that is easily overlooked by others.

“The one thing that doesn’t get shown in that record is the fact that we had six extra-inning games, and five of those went eight innings or longer,” Polvorosa said.

Now entering his third season as the head of the program and coming off a region Coach of the Year recognition, Polvorosa feels as though the team learned from those experiences.

“Especially with all the youth that we had, I am very optimistic that this year we can turn it around,” Polvorosa said. “We can turn some of those close games into possibly wins [because] we’ve handled and faced that adversity now. With the inexperience that we had; they grew from it.”

Senior outfielder and team captain Daniel Lopez is eager to change the narrative and get this season underway.

“[There is] something about this season,” Lopez said. “Everyone’s work ethic just makes me excited and I really think we’re going to do some good things.”

With every new season, there is some turnover. The Rams lost four seniors at the conclusion of last season, including region Player of the Year: pitcher/infielder Jose Contreras-Gonzales.

“Obviously when you lose a player that was Player of the Year in our region and was Second Team All-State last year, that’s not going to be an easy task for anyone to have to fill,” Polvorosa said. “But as a whole, I think we’re going to fill that void with the bodies that came on board this year.”

Freshman pitcher/infielder Pedro Leon is among them.

“We didn’t think that he would mature as quickly as he has,” Polvorosa said. “But he fits in nicely and he’s going to be competing for that one spot on the mound and his bat will be right in the middle of our lineup.”

The players form a tight-knit group both on and off the field. Utilizing a team group chat, they coordinate hangouts away from school, talk about things that go on in practice, and how they can get better as a team.

Junior catcher and team captain Dominic Olivas likes the comradery that this group provides.

“We hang out regularly [off the field],” Olivas said. “Me and Daniel [Lopez] make sure of that. We always go to the batting cage or go out to eat, something simple.”

“Everyone is unique in their own way and has their own personality,” Lopez added. “Just bonding with one another, whether it’s on the field or off the field, we all just have that special connection.”

Polvorosa feels he has a solid team top to bottom, but he points to senior shortstop Isaac Hernandez, senior infielder Josh Rangel, Olivas, and Leon as a few players to watch for this upcoming season.

“Obviously, everybody wants to get into the state tournament,” Polvorosa said. “For us, one goal that we have is to win the region.”

Washington will open its season with four games in four days at home, starting Wednesday against the Payson Longhorns as part of the 2020 Cougar Classic Invitational Tournament.