As the 2022 baseball season is winding down, St. Vincent de Paul has clinched spots in the North Bay League - Redwood and North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs and don't plan to stop there.
“The season has been good, we are above .500 which is good for us as a ballclub,” Head Coach Spencer Finkbohner said. “We're starting to hit our stride hitting and fielding wise so I look forward to seeing what this team holds and hopefully we can make a playoff run.”
On the season the Mustangs are 11-8 overall and 5-5 in NBL-Redwood play. They are ranked third in the NCS Division 5 rankings and are in third place in the NBL-Redwood.
These victories have been hard fought as they have had the second toughest schedule in their division, according to MaxPreps.
This success has provided a jolt to those in the program and has created high hopes for the future.
“Our team has been playing pretty well,” sophomore ace pitcher Josh Malik said. “We've come back from many tough situations and I feel like we put our minds to things, we can really do well and play well together."
These wins include ones against second place Healdsburg, whom they will still play two more times, beginning today and third place Santa Rosa, whom St. Vincent is tied with in the standings. The Mustangs had a critical early season victory against Division 5 rival Sonoma Academy, 12-11.
These wins can be credited to the Mustangs offensive explosion this season, averaging six runs a game, and hitting a team average of .299, compared to the .282 national average. They've driven 80 runs which is better than the 66 RBI's driven in by teams nationwide.
This offensive attack has been led by senior Carter Payte, who leads the team with hits at 21, which constitutes a .429 batting average and RBI’s at 14. Junior Eddy Stone leads the team in overall batting average at .462 on the campaign.
Defense and pitching has also been a bright spot for the Mustangs. Malik leads the team in ERA at 1.88, and is second in strikeouts at 21 in 26 innings of work.
“I think I've been playing pretty well, but I feel like there's a lot to work on,” Malik said. “Mixing up my pitches, and taking care of my arm, and having it last longer throughout the season and being healthier.”
The Mustangs will look to continue their offensive and defensive success down the stretch, as they will face tougher competition.
“Our pitching has come together nicely, but for playoffs hitting needs a little work,” Finkbohner said. “But we're doing a few things differently and just looking to give our guys the best opportunity to be successful come game day.”
In these playoffs they will be competing against familiar opponents including league champion West County, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. All three of those teams are over .500 in the NBL, and are in higher divisions than St. Vincent.
“West County, they are no joke, I definitely would love another crack at them,” Finkbohner said. "Hopefully we have a home game against Healdsburg after our final series, and Santa Rosa, who has the tiebreaker on us, sets up for the do or die playoffs.”
In the NCS playoffs they will be facing off against unfamiliar teams as they have only played two Division 5 teams all year due to their loaded league schedule. However, Finkbohner is confident in his team's ability as they have had good competition all year.
“We’ll see what happens on selection day, all of our hard work is put to the forefront,” Finkbohner said. “We'll see what happens and whatever happens from there, we are going to have some fun and this is what we've been working for all year.”
It is evident that the Mustangs will have a tough road ahead in the playoffs, however it seems as if the plan is set and they know they can be a championship team.
“We need to keep the bats alive, and keep staying competitive,” Malik said. “We also need to minimize errors and play as a team. We've all been sticking with each other and we've all been playing really well and we are excited to go far in the playoffs.”
Going into these playoffs, the roster is loaded with experience with seven out of the 13 varsity players being seniors. Those within the program believe it adds an extra advantage.
“Having majority seniors, we think this is our year,” Finkbohner said. “Hopefully we play baseball into late May and early June. The seniors definitely have brought us to where we are and where we're going. It's a great bunch of kids and I definitely will miss each and every one of them."
This experienced Mustang squad will be looking to go deep into the playoffs and have their last game be a championship win.
“I believe we're gonna go really far,” Malik said. “We're just gonna have to play as a team, and we want to go to the championship and win it all."
The Mustangs will close out their regular season with a two-game series against second place Healdsburg on Wednesday and Friday. St. Vincent won the first meeting 10-4 back on April 1 and by splitting the series this week, can clinch the tiebreaker over Healdsburg. The 2nd-4th teams in the standings are only separated by one game heading into the final week.
The NBL playoffs will commence Wednesday May 11th, and the NCS Division 5 playoffs will begin the week of May 16th.
