by Max Edelman
Just three seasons after restarting their baseball program, the St. Mary’s Gaels look to finally establish themselves in the Catholic League. After restarting their baseball program in 2022, the Gaels, led by head coach Chris Estrada, who is entering his third year with the team, were forced to rebuild from the ground up. Despite finishing 2023 with a 2-14 record in the CHSAA, and a 9-14 record overall, Estrada was able to find the progress his team and players made.
“Last season, I think the kids got a better sense of being in the catholic league.” Estrada said. “How strong it is, how competitive it is, how many top prospects there are whether they are going DI or possibly getting looked at to get drafted. The kids had a second year to get adjusted to it, and the record isn’t an indication of the progress.”
When St Mary’s restarted their baseball team again, they were consisted of underclassmen. Two years later, St. Mary’s is finally reaping the rewards for what Estrada calls their first real “senior class.”
“This is our first year having a senior class.” Estrada said. “So that’s going to make a big difference overall. The past few years, we’ve had mostly freshman, sophomores and juniors. This is the first year we’re going to have six seniors on the field.”
Estrada pointed out the pitching staff as an area that has the potential to be a major part of the team. One of those seniors who is likely to make a big impact for the Gaels this year is pitcher Kyle Pena.
“Kyle will probably be leading the staff.” Estrada said. “He will make a big difference and has grown a lot.”
Arelius Vandrell, while a senior, is new to the Gaels. After sitting out last season following his transfer to St. Mary’s, Vandrell is finally able to make an impact on the mound. Rounding out the key pitchers for the Gaels is junior Missouri-commit Todd Feurtado. Feurtado, along with Vandrell and Pena, solidified what should be an experienced and effective pitching staff for the Gaels.
LHP Todd Feurtado (St. Mary’s 2025) commits to the University of Missouri pic.twitter.com/a7OZi9nXRH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 12, 2023
St. Mary’s has also developed a very strong bullpen. Estrada pointed out several players who should feature for the Gaels out of the pen this year.
“We’ll have good strength on the pitching side with our back of the bullpen.” Estrada said. “With guys like Edwin Diaz, Aaron Diaz and Jorge Rodriguez. Those guys have been pitching in the league for a while are definitely going to be able to understand and compete with the batters. The pitching is definitely going to make a big difference for us this year.”
While St. Mary’s is benefiting from experience for the first time since rejoining the Catholic League, they are not taking any focus away from developing underclassmen.
“I think we are still so youthful.” Estrada said. “I think guys like Thomas Galan, who is a sophomore. Guys like Ryder Dougherty, who’s also a sophomore, should make a difference. Fabian Diaz, who’s a sophomore now, played as a freshman. All three of them got some playing time on varsity last year, so this year they should definitely make that stride to make a big impact on the varsity team.”
When discussing what coach Estrada believes will be the biggest strengths of his team this season, Estrada touted his team’s pitching and defense as their biggest strength. Estrada cited players such as Rico Mercades, Derek Mateo and Samuel Hernandez as players he expects to be big difference-makers on the field. Estrada also has high hopes for the Gaels offense this year.
“If our offense can move runners over, play small ball and steal bases, that will give us a lot of help.” Estrada said. “Winning close games, winning 5-3 games, 2-3 games, 1-0 games depending on our pitching and our defense. We definitely want to grow on the hitting side, but we are definitely excited to see how our pitching and our defense keep us in games.”
St Mary’s will open their season against Cathedral Prep in March. 14.
