Mission League Champs (2009)
Notre Dame Baseball Captured the Mission League Title, with a record of 23-6. We had the Mission league player of the year – Josh Goossen-Brown P. We had several All-League players along with 3 All-CIF Players: Kelly Dugan OF (1st pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 Major League Draft) Nick LaFace C (UCSD)and Josh Goossen-Brown P. Ranny Lowe SS accepted a scholarship to Pepperdine University and Pedro Aldape 1B, P accepted a scholarship to Occidental College.
Making History (2008)
Notre Dame captured the CIF title at Dodger Stadium, defeating South Hills High School 4-2. To add to the success of the team, Cal Hi Sports named the Notre Dame Baseball Team “State Team of the Year.” The Knights won the “Southern California Invitational Tournament” with strong teams represented such as City Champions- Chatsworth High School. The Knights finished with a record of 27-4, which helped them finish at #1 in the State and #8 in the Nation, according to the ESPN High School National Baseball poll. Continuing the Tradition (The last 20 years)
• 12 trips to the CIF playoffs
• 6 seasons over 20 wins
• 4 trips to the CIF semi-finals
• 5 tournament titles (Westside, Atascadero, Daily News, Chino)
• 3 league titles
• 3 times ranked in the top 20 nationally (as low as 6th)
• 3 times ranked in the state top 10 (#1 in 2008)
• 2 trips to the CIF championship game (Dodger Stadium 2000, 2008)
• Our baseball players have maintained a G.P.A. over 3.3 (over 360 players)
• No baseball player has been academically ineligible
• We always have a Frosh Team (Some Mission League Teams do not)
• 55-60 Players in the Baseball Program
2008 CIF and State Champions
The Knights baseball program is still flying high following their best season in Notre Dame history. The Knights captured the CIF title at Dodger Stadium, defeating South Hills High School 4-2. To add to the success of the team, Cal Hi Sports named the Notre Dame Baseball Team “State Team of the Year.” The Knights came out of the gates strong in 2008, winning their first 10 games in a row. The Knights won the “Southern California Invitational Tournament” with strong teams represented such as City Champions- Chatsworth High School. They posted a 10-2 mission league record and ran the table at the Division 3 playoffs, culminating with the championship game at Dodger Stadium. The Knights finished with a record of 27-4, which helped them finish at #1 in the State and #8 in the Nation, according to the ESPN High School National Baseball poll. Notre Dame had several players receiving awards in 2008. LHP - Nik Rodarte made all-league as well as MVP of the Mission League, was the CIF co-player of the year, and made the All-State Team. He posted an 11-1 record and was the winning pitcher at the CIF Final game. DH- Kelly Dugan was selected to the all-league team and also received all-CIF honors. 3B - Trevor Gee (Loyola Marymount), LF - Nick LaFace, and C – Hayden Hunter (Wagner College) also received all-mission league honors.
The Knights are very hopeful of another great season in 2009. They return many of their starters, lead by Seniors – Kelly Dugan, Nick LaFace, Ranny Lowe, Casey Ryan, Pedro Aldape, Josh Goossen-Brown, and Tim Reigel. The Knights should have a strong pitching staff with Juniors David Armendariz and Eric Walbridge and Seniors Josh Goossen-Brown and Pedro Aldape. The Knights are looking forward to another competitive mission league schedule and are trying to defend the Southern California Invitational title. The Knights are also competing in their first “National Classic” which hosts some of the best teams in the country, competing for bragging rights and the top spot in the national polls. The Knights have had two seniors commit to colleges, Kelly Dugan (Pepperdine) and Ranny Lowe (Pepperdine). We are expecting several more commitments before the beginning of the season.