In the rafters of the Woodlands, almost every Stallion Sports program has a league or state banner hung up. One sport that has been around since the school’s founding in 2007 has had to be patient.
After 17 years, the word Baseball will now be hung in the gym alongside other sports banners in the Woodlands rafters.
“It was so special. Especially the time of year, the rivalry, everything kind of came down to the last play [of the game]. [It’s] such a fun feeling when you have that pressure and the team rises in pressure, it’s so fun,” said pitcher Austin Plisinski (12).
The Stallions became Sea View League Champions in the last game of the regular season. SJHHS Baseball finished their quest for the first league title with a 3-2 walk-off victory over rivals San Clemente High School.
Second baseman Ethan Meeker (11) put the ball in play to a Triton infielder who committed an error. This allowed baserunner Jeremiah Lindsay-Fajardo (11) to run all the way home which was the winning run.
“I’m just blessed to be part of a good group this year. We earned it, we deserve it. It’s just a great time to be a part of such a good team. We are just brothers out there, it’s just good to compete, have some fun and that game meant the world to us,” said Meeker.
Catcher Jake Vuoso (11) also tallied an RBI, but earlier in the game. Vuoso believes that being part of the first championship baseball team is special because the previous seasons were filled with struggle. Additionally this team planted the seed of winning at the diamond on Stallion Ridge.
“It really means a lot because we haven’t had that great of a past in [terms of] school history. This being our first title I feel like the only way from here is up so if we can just continue this culture and winning streak it’s going to be really good from here on out,” said Vuoso.
Not only are the players responsible for adding to SJHHS school history, but also the coaches. Head Coach Bret LeVier and the rest of his coaching staff have implemented a fun environment which has contributed to the success in 2024.
“They deserve it all. The coaches have been working hard year in and year out. They’ve facilitated that fun culture that we have, they allow that to happen. We do so many fun things inside of [the] season, outside of [the] season. They [coaches] just facilitate that friendship and fondness,” said Plisinski.
The Stallions got off to a hot start in the beginning of the Regular Season. Only two games were lost in the first 15. The lowest point of the season hit in the following six games as they went 2-4. After two consecutive losses to the team that finished behind SJHHS in the league standings, Aliso Niguel High School, the Stallions won out the rest of the regular season games.
“It [being part of the first championship team] just makes it so much more special. We had something going at the start, kinda stopped in the middle [of the season], but we picked it up at the end. I feel like this year we’ve had the best comradery and we have the best chemistry and I’m just so happy to be a part of it,” said Meeker.
There is still more baseball to play for SJHHS as they continue to work hard behind the scenes. Cajon High School will be the first CIF playoff test for the Stallions. The game is a home game that will begin at 3:15 pm on May 2nd.
“This week of practice is going to be very huge for us. We’ve been really grinding, we did live At-Bats on Monday, we’re staying on top of our game and really just like grinding to get that extra step and win CIF,” said Vuoso.
Despite now being in the playoffs and a chance to win state, the mindset and approach for the team remains the same.
“The best thing we can do is to take it game by game, pitch by pitch. If we simplify it inning by inning, if we try to win each inning at a time we win games. Not rushing anything, if we’d won one league game, we’d [then] focus on the next one,” said Meeker.
“We do a good job taking games one at a time. When we have a process, when we have a goal, we’re super good at sticking to it, but it [also] comes down to the friendship we have. When something is going wrong, our team doesn’t change,” said Plisinski.
