The Coastal Dodgers Collegiate Team kicked off their 2024 summer season with a two-game series against the San Luis Obispo Blues at Sinsheimer Field this weekend.
The Dodgers earned a win in the first game and fell in the second to begin a 25-game schedule that features 11 opponents from the Golden Coast Collegiate League.
Along with their conference opponents, the Dodgers will face off against the Santa Barbara Foresters, Conejo Oaks and SoCal Halos. Their home field is Dunn High School in Los Olivos.
The Coastal Dodgers, who are coached by Steven Hardesty, Chris Joyce and Cole Knightley, are coming off a Golden Coast League Championship in 2023.
The returners from last year’s championship squad are Victor Heredia (Cuesta College) and Jeremy Camarena (Allan Hancock College).
Joining that pairing from Santa Barbara City College are Brad Cekada, Brendan Cekada, Ben Fabian, Joe Talarico, Bubby Campbell, Ryan Kakuk and Jon Peric.
The roster also includes a group of players who are either in high school or graduating from high school in the next month. That group includes Sho Garcia, Wylan Nelson, Liam Keithley, Michael Firestone, Adam Arth, Jetner Welch and Theo Anderson.
On top of the college team, there is a Coastal Dodgers High School Summer team that competes in a 14-game season in the Golden Coast Wood Bat Summer League.
The high school Dodgers will begin play in June against the Bakersfield Crude, Bakersfield Braves, Santa Barbara Pack, San Marcos Sooners, Dos Pueblos Knights and Ventura Braves.
The organization is overseen by Tom Myers, a local area scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also was an assistant coach at the NCAA Div. 1 level for 13 years and is a former minor league baseball player.
The program can be followed on X @SBGrizzlies and on Instagram @SantaBarbaraGrizzlies. The team’s website is www.sbgrizzliesbaseball.com.