Defending CIF champion Estancia finishes league strong, looks for solid playoff run

Estancia Eagles at Angel Stadium after the annual game in April. (Photo courtesy Estancia Athletics).

Defending CIF Division 6 baseball champion Estancia finished the season strong and is looking for another big run in the playoffs.

The Eagles (11-13, 7-5) finished Coast League play with an 11-3 victory over La Quinta to finish third in the league. Estanca still has non-league games left at Boso Tech Saturday and at home Tuesday vs. Bolsa Grande.

“Our season got off to a slow start, we were dealing with some injuries and getting other players going from playing winter sports,” said Coach Nate Goellrich. “But we are starting to get a good rhythm and team chemistry going having won five in a row and seven of our last nine games.”

Estancia’s offense is led by Sawyer Atkinson, who has committed to play at University of Mary next year, Goellrich said. Atkinson is batting .362 with 21 runs scored, 11 RBI, six doubles, a triple and two home runs.

“He also does a great job behind the plate at catcher for us,” Goellrich said. “Nico Viramontes is another key player. He is committed to Adams State. He is hitting .344 and is in the closer role on the mound for us.”

Other players who have contributed include senior pitcher Carlos Hauser, who is 4-2 with a 0.90 ERA. He’s also batting .321 with 20 RBI.

Sophomore Brooks Harder is batting .385 with 16 RBI and two home runs and senior Sean Sweeney is hitting .310 and leads the team with 14 stolen bases.

Goellrich said the team has some goals before the playoffs start.

“We are going to use the rest of our season to focus on the details and get our pitching lined up for the playoffs,” he said. “We have a lot of key players returning from last year’s team and are looking to make another deep playoff run.”

In last year’s CIF final at Cal State Fullerton, Estancia’s Jake Humphries blasted a bases-clearing walk off triple with no outs to lift the Eagles to a 4-3 victory against Marshall. It was the second CIF title for the program, which also brought home a CIF Division 5 title in 2022 with a win vs. Anaheim, also at Goodwin Field.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com