Baseball Captures 2022 WSC South Title
Persevering through the setbacks of two canceled seasons and stifling challenges of the COVID pandemic, the Glendale baseball program has remerged to capture the 2022 Western State Conference South crown—the program's eighth title in ten seasons. Sophomores Alex Mills (4-5 HR, 4 Rs, 2 RBI, 3 SBs) and Hans Seo (1-3, Grand Slam) led the way for the Vaqs offense as the team secured its 19th consecutive victory. Boasting an overall record of 29-5 and 16-0 in conference play, the program ranks #2 and #3, respectively, in the latest CCCBCA and CCCAA polls. "I could not be more thrilled for the guys who have stayed committed through these past two years," said head coach Alex Kocol, "this is a testament to their resilience and work ethic".
A member of talented crop of incoming freshmen in 2020, Artin Biageyian offered perspective after the game. "Winning the conference championship was especially important to me because of the hiatus I took," he said, "although there was a great amount of uncertainty whether I would ever be able to play baseball at a competitive level again, the grind did not stop for me personally." Now a dual-enrolled student at UC Irvine, Biageyian is eager to see where the game will take him.
2022 also represents the return of Glendale to the Western State Conference South, following a short stint in the former Eastern division. With five games remaining in conference play, the Vaqs are poised to challenge the WSC's overall win percentage record—the conference has not had a team go undefeated since records began being kept in 1981. College of the Canyons has come the closest, finishing the 1987 season with a mark of 22-2-1. "Our vision has not changed in quite some time", said Kocol, "we want to provide a winning environment where our guys are challenged to grow and overachieve". "The Western State Conference has produced some of the best baseball in the history of our sport. Programs like COC, led by Mike Gillespie, LA Valley, led by Dave Snow, Cuesta under Larry Lee—they set the standard for how the game is supposed to be played—it would be very special to leave our mark and be considered amongst those teams."
Reflecting on the journey so far, sophomore Alex Mills summed up the mood of the team with a realization that there is more work ahead: "It is a special accomplishment to be able to come back after two years and check off the conference championship box. The next box is the state championship."