By Don Trello
The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent
Sunlake coach Dick Rohrberg might be the high school equivalent of former St. Louis Cardinals managers Whitey Herzog and Tony La Russa when it comes to what he believes it takes to play winning baseball.
Herzog’s teams were known for the ability to manufacture runs using base hits, walks, stolen bases, hit-and-runs and sacrifices. His managerial style was dubbed Whitey Ball and became known as small ball, which La Russa took to a new level during his tenure.
“I want kids that want to learn the game and get better,” said Rohrberg, who is in his fifth season as Seahawks coach. “I want them to be fundamentally sound and play the game the right way.”
Rohrberg’s background includes stints as an assistant coach at Dayton University and 12 years as head coach at Chamberlain. He also works as a talent evaluator for the Baseball Factory.
“(Assistant coach) Mike Peeples played AAA for the Rockies and Jays,” said Rohrberg. “My background is college and his is pro baseball. This is his first year as assistant coach, and we complement each other well.”
Sunlake practices and pregame preparations mirror those of college and professional teams starting with batting practice, including emphasis on bunting skills and work on fielding. Players are constantly in motion and not allowed to sit on the bench.
“I tell the kids to decide what fun is,” Rohrberg said. “I ask them if they want to come and goof around and not become better baseball players or if they want to come out and learn how to win. … We have 14 players, and every one of them is willing to put the work in and they are getting there. We’ve shown we can be competitive.”
Sunlake (8-8) has the chance at its first winning season since 2009 when it was 13-12. Major contributors to the resurgence are senior first baseman Travis Doyel and junior left-handed pitcher David Castillo.
“Castillo has a tremendous upside and could be a premium pitcher if he works hard,” Rohrberg said. “He’s an aggressive hitter with quick hands that puts the ball in play.”
Castillo is 3-2 with a 1.28 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. He also is the second leading hitter on the team with a .340 batting average.
“I was a pitcher and outfielder my freshman year, but I didn’t make the team,” Castillo said. “My brother was a senior starter, and I thought I was better than him. I never got to play with him, and that motivated me to try harder.”
Castillo made the junior varsity team his sophomore year as the No. 1 pitcher.
“I didn’t move up to the varsity, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Castillo said. “I’m an aggressive hitter and I love hitting, but I like pitching best. I just love playing baseball.”
Doyel leads Sunlake with a .368 average, and has also seen duty as a pitcher.
“This is the best start the team has had since I’ve been here,” said Doyel, who started as a sophomore. “We are making contact and hitting the ball harder. … Last year we would get into a losing streak and just let it happen. Now the team plays hard to the last inning. We are all tired of losing.”
Castillo and Doyel combined to pitch the first no-hitter in school history March 4 in a 10-2 win against Anclote.
“I was happy about the no-hitter, but I could have done better,” said Castillo, who pitched four innings and struck out 11 batters. “I had five walks and gave up two unearned runs because of a bad pickoff throw and a wild pitch. … I didn’t know about the school not having a no-hitter until after the game. It’s good to make history, but I’d like to do it again.”
Doyel relieved Castillo and pitched the last three innings. Doyel was somewhat bemused when he recalled the unusual ending of the game.
“David let me know there was a no-hitter and I better not give it up,” Doyel said. “I knew we never had a no-hitter, and that was extra motivation. … I walked two guys with one out in the seventh inning. Then there was a fly ball to left and Castillo dropped the ball. He picked it up and threw to third for a force out, and the third baseman threw it to second to complete a double play. I never saw a game end like that.”
Rohrberg said he hoped to use the first no-hitter as a building block for his program seeking its first playoff berth: “It’s something you can build on.”
