Two Aztec baseball players named to all-county team

SOLEDAD - The 2012 all-county high school baseball team has been named, and the Aztecs of Soledad placed two players on that distinguished lineup, with Ivan Sanchez and A.J. Banuelos.

"I am blessed to have them both," said Head Coach Damien Ryan. This is the second year in a row that both these players were voted in by other coaches around Monterey County.

Sanchez has been like a hitting machine since his freshman year at the varsity level. He has been a first-team all-league selection his freshman, sophomore and junior season. He hit .512 as a freshman, .489 as a sophomore and tied for third in the league in batting this year at .500 to repeat as a member of the all-county team. He also led the league in doubles (13) and triples (4) while knocking in 14 runs in 18 games.

"Ivan is an emotional player. He plays with a lot of fire," added Ryan. Sanchez is ready to be a team leader in the 2013 season when he will be a senior.

"Being voted in by the coaches makes me feel like my hard work is paying off, and I am doing something that I love," said Sanchez.

Banuelos, a senior pitcher, was named Most Valuable Pitcher in the MTAL as a sophomore (8-0, 2.12 ERA), slumped a bit as a junior, but bounced back with a first-team all-league pick this year with his arm and his bat. He pitched 69 innings with six complete games — 71 strikeouts — to go with an 8-3 overall record and 7-2 in league. Banuelos’ hitting was even better. He led the MTAL with a .591 average — 26 hits in 44 at-bats — was fifth in the league in RBIs with 15, tied for second in doubles with six and hit a pair of homers. He will attend the University of Pacific in the fall.



For the complete article see the 06-20-2012 issue.

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