Panthers Baseball Looking Ahead to Next Season

The baseball team’s season came to an end earlier this week, but the Panthers may have laid the groundwork for more success in the future.

The Panthers – who 12-7 in the second round of the 4A South region playoffs on  Monday – finished with a solid 12-7 record despite starting the year with an inexperienced roster that included seven freshmen.

In addition, Parkdale (12-7) played the season without head coach Charles Mackey, who was ill and recovering from surgery. Assistant coaches Fred Howze and Sheldon Dunbar led the team in his absence.

“The guys who played this year got a chance to get a lot of game experience and they did a pretty good job,” Howze said. “We made mistakes, now – when you’re young, you’re going to make mistakes – but as far as overall, I’m more than satisfied. My main objective now is more or less trying to keep them eligible for the next four years. If I can do that, that would really be a big success for us.”

The Panthers looked good in their first postseason contest, c.

Among the key players Parkdale will lose to graduation are catcher Eli Deogracia, first baseman Nick Chapman, second baseman Erik Sandoval, outfielder and outfielder Mike Carter.

Sophomore third baseman Kelvin Reyes will be counted on to help lead next year’s squad, as will sophomore outfielder James Long and freshman pitcher/shortstop Naja Garcia.

Howze said he hopes the program can maintain its continuity while adding a few new players next year, and said he plans to keep tabs on all the current players participating in summer leagues.

“We didn’t play defense like I would have liked,” he said, “but that’s because we had a lot of young guys in there. As far as hitting the ball, we hit the ball well. I just wish we played defense as well as we hit the ball. But overall, I enjoyed it.”