By Dominic Scianna
Head baseball coach Scott Whitcomb’s Solorio Sun Warriors were searching for answers after three straight defeats to tough non-conference opponents De La Salle, Reavis and Lincoln Park to begin the 2024 baseball campaign. His young team came to Kerry Wood Field in Chicago on March 27 searching for answers and found its mojo in convincing fashion with an 11-1 victory over Lake View to notch its first win of the season.
Solorio sophomore Juan Barrientos pitched three scoreless innings, striking out five, while walking just one Wildcat batter for the win. Barrientos is the team’s starting catcher, but Whitcomb went to his go-to-guy for help on the mound in breaking out of the team’s mini-slump.
“We’re such a young team right now and we’re going to continue to grow as the season progresses,” said Whitcomb, who has three seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and five freshmen on the Solorio squad. “Antonio (Licea) got his confidence back at the plate and it’s paid dividends, and Juan wears a lot of hats for our team as our starting catcher and one of our top pitchers.
“They are both leaders and do a lot for us.”
Licea starred for Solorio (1-3) offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple, single, and sacrifice fly to drive in four runs on the day to break out of his early season slump.
“It’s definitely difficult (with a young team) to get everyone on the same page, but when we come together and communicate, we see the positive outcomes, like we did today,” said Licea.
His teammate agreed and knows the big games on the Sun Warriors schedule are still to come.
“We got our first win and hope it carries over to next week,” said Barrientos. “That’s when we start our (CPL) conference games and want to finish in the top three in the Jackie Robinson South.”
The Wildcats (1-5) had one bad inning in the contest, but it proved fatal, giving up 7 runs as 11 Solorio batters came to the plate to take a big lead in the top of the second. The Sun Warriors upped their advantage to 9-0 with two more runs in the third inning before Lake View senior Tony Garcia answered with an RBI double to break through and end Solorio’s shutout bid in the bottom of the fourth.
Other key contributors for Solorio were freshman Keiber Hernandez (2-for-4 with two runs scored), and senior Jacob Pacheco, who went 1-for-2 and scored three runs for the victors. Coach Robert Matticx’s Lake View squad was led by Garcia who was 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI, to go with Wildcats starting pitcher Xavier Alicea and Jaime Herrera, who combined to tally three of the Wildcats’ five hits in defeat.
Photos by Michael Wojtychiw/OSA
