Justin Sanders wanted to prove that despite his stature, he was a quality pitcher.
Proving naysayers wrong that he is in fact big enough to move on to varsity or to the collegiate level, Sanders inked his letter of intent to play for Westmont College in Santa Barabra next year.
There were a host of reasons that drew Sanders to Westmont, not the least of which was the fact that the Warriors are ranked No. 16 among NAIA schools.
But the biggest reason was the fact that he stands to compete for serious playing time next season with Westmont graduating most of its pitching staff.
“Most colleges you go to, when you go in as a freshman, you’re not going to see any playing time whatsoever,” Sanders said. “Their program brought in some freshmen and now they’re seniors, so they have six or seven seniors leaving so they are in need of freshmen pitching.”
Sanders will enter his senior season at Live Oak this spring where he looks to be the No. 1 starter for the team.
He holds a career 2.49 ERA, with 10 wins against eight losses.
Sanders earned a save in Live Oak’s first playoff win since 2010 last May and battled against Aragon where the team finally bowed out of the playoffs.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” said coach CJ Goularte. “He’s a true baseball player and he’s not afraid to do what is necessary to win.”
Sanders said he’s ready for the challenge of being the go-to guy on the staff and said he already had that feeling as he saw big games pitching along side Michael Porras last year.
“I’m more than ready. Even the past couple of years, I haven’t been the oldest guy there I’ve been a part of those guys,” Sanders said.
He said he’s particularly eager to help a young class of Acorn players who look to fill the varsity ranks this season, noting it wasn’t that long ago he was a freshman pitcher cutting his teeth on the varsity diamond.
“I’m more than happy to give them experience and the things they need,” Sanders said.
And he has a ready-made role model for how he can be at the college level.
He was a freshman and sophomore when Mitch Hickey was fighting for a change to keep playing despite Tommy John.
Hickey now is a closer for Oregon State, entering his sophomore season for the Beavers.
“He has a bigger stage, but I want to have the success he had at the level I’m playing at,” Sanders said. “Having Mitch there for me in high school and just looking up to Mitch is huge. It’s pushing me to follow in his footsteps.”
Sanders has been playing ball since he could pick up a baseball.
His dad was big in baseball, but didn’t have encouragement growing up, so Sanders said there was always that support as he went through the ranks.
“Since I was a little kid, he told me don’t worry about it. Kids are bigger than you; it’s fine. It’s a way to get to college. So that’s been huge for me,” Sanders said.
