On March 6, 2020, the Mingus baseball game dropped a game 11-6 to Estrella Foothills. It was a game that, despite the lopsided final score, the Marauders had chances to win. It was the final game on the Mingus schedule for more than a week. It ended up being much longer.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the season to get initially postponed and eventually canceled. So, when Mingus opens the 2021 season on Friday, March 12, with a 4 p.m. road game against Shadow Mountain, it will be the first game in more than a year.
Normally, a team might have a few games circled on the calendar, like games against traditional powerhouses or rivalry games. But when asked what games he was looking forward to on the season, coach Erick Quesada had a simple answer.
“All of them,” he said laughing. “The region games are obviously going to stand out but we’re all looking forward to competing. We’re not necessarily worried about results this year. Just getting out there and competing and enjoying it. The wins will come.”
The Marauders are strong in some key places on the diamond.
The combination of senior second baseman Ryan Lindsay and junior shortstop Jan Alvarez gives Mingus a veteran double play combination. Senior Trey Peters will be one of the top pitchers on the Marauders and will play first base on other days. Quesada hopes to have junior Anthony Rivera back from injury as the starting centerfielder for the first game. If not, left fielder Jehiah Rogers will likely move over until Rivera can return.
Behind the plate is returning junior catcher Zack Harrison. Quesada is also optimistic about the potential output from a pair of transfers — first baseman Ryan Shamberger and Emmitt Smith, who are new to Mingus from Northern California and Camp Verde, respectively.
“I feel like we’re pretty solid out here,” Lindsay said. “Most of us have been putting in a lot of time during the offseason. And we’ve got a couple of people who have been playing multiple sports that have come here right after basketball. I feel like we’ve been putting in a lot of work for it.”
While it will be more than a year between games for the Marauders, they have been playing a lot of baseball. Quesada started an offseason program in October. He said that roughly 25 kids have been out there every day that they’ve been allowed to be. That’s given a lot of the younger players a chance to make a good early impression.
“It’s good to see a lot of these younger guys stepping up and filling roles where we might have holes,” Rogers said.
Something else that Rogers noted is that this team seems to have a better attitude than in years past. He attributed that in no small part to the fact that everyone saw how quickly last season was taken away and after a tumultuous year, they’re all very grateful to be back on the field.
Alvarez, meanwhile, said that the team has matured together over the years and in that time has come to learn how to better function as one, rather than a series of individuals. He’s looking forward to showing that on the field.
“I’m mostly looking forward to competing with the guys, competing as a whole team — defensively, offensively, just playing together,” Alvarez said. “We’re ready to play, ready to compete. We’re going to go out there and give it our all.”
That’s an attitude his coach sees.
“They’ve been biting at the bit,” Quesada said. “These kids have been practicing for months now. They’re just boys. They love each other. They’re excited. I’m excited to see what they put together this year. I’m looking forward to seeing the pride that we put on the field. That’s going to get us going. You know me. I want the best for the boys. I want them to finish the game that they love the right way.”
