LJ baseball: Dimich looking up

The Vikings' Cole Dimich,

who capably patrols

centerfield.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

The La Jolla High baseball team has kept up an almost impossible-to-keep-up pattern in their 16 games so far this season: They have won the first, third, fifth, etc. games, and followed each and every win with a loss in the second, fourth, sixth, etc. games on their schedule.

At this moment, Coach Gary Frank's 2017 contingent stands at 8-8. Fathom that, with a perfect every-other-game record.

This is a fascinating mathematical pattern, but it is not one that draws or merits praise. It means that the Vikings, though carrying several talented seniors who are leaders along with other talented players, are mired right around the .500 mark. That's mediocrity, and they know it.

One good sign lately, among others, is that centerfielder Cole Dimich has picked up his batting average.

That's good to see, because Cole is a highly capable athlete, and he was struggling in early going to put together a few basehits.

Dimich is the kind of student athlete who, in his determination to excel, it seems puts a lot of pressure on himself. In football, he became the quarterback-designate after playing part time as a junior. Having to learn a new system this year under Coach Matt Morrison, he struggled and sputtered at the outset.

It's one thing to be a part-time quarterback, but when you become the man, in such a central skilled position in football--a focal point--the spotlight shines much more brightly on you.

Cole, asked questions by a reporter early in last fall's football schedule, acknowledged that he was mightily trying to learn new plays with new reads, and it was hard.

Fortunately, Morrison, who served one season before leaving for Parker, is a former quarterback himself and shielded his starter: "He'll get better as the season progresses," was the head coach's repeated mantra. And it helped take the limelight away from Cole's scattered passes.

What Dimich does well naturally is run, and run he did when in doubt. His running came much quicker than his successful passing did during his senior season.

Well, in baseball this spring, you could see the right-hander almost squeeze right through his bat, he was gripping it so tightly, as he tried to put together a string of successful at-bats.

Frank is a coach who says, "I don't pay attention to individual statistics. The players' natural skills will come out over the course of a season." So, no pressure there.

Lo and behold, I looked up statistics last weekend or early this week, to fortify my information supply in advance of covering the Vikings' pool-play games in the Lions Tournament Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Dimich's batting average was up to a respectable .267 or so. (I tried to check yesterday and this morning for this story, but the Vikings' batting statistics are not accessible on maxpreps.com. I think Gary, who is a detailed stat guy, along with his father Howard, who keeps the team's official scorebook, used the lock capability on the website. This would prevent opposing teams in the tournament from quickly looking up La Jolla batters' statistics and using it to their advantage in games.)

As the young athlete relaxed somewhat throwing the football later in his senior season, so he has also seen an uptick in his B.A. as he has let his batting skills rise toward their natural level.

As Frank called out to the team during Wednesday's 3-0 shutout by Rocklin in their final Lions tourney contest, "Let's wake up the bats." May that happen throughout the Vikings' lineup, just in time for league play.