It’s been a bit of an early-season roller coaster ride for the Scottsdale Community College baseball team.  The Artichokes got off to a rough start Feb. 2-4, losing four consecutive non-conference games in a row to College of Southern Idaho.  They bounced back with four consecutive wins, followed by a mixed bag of wins and losses.

Currently 7-8 overall and 5-4 in conference play, the team ended a three-game skid on Tuesday with a win against Mesa CC.

In his 16^th season at the helm, head coach Alex Cherney is optimistic about his young team.

“In general, we’re a younger group, and the things that we’ve done really well up to this point is pitch and play defense, and so obviously I’m really happy with that, and the whole season should really be a learning process, and we should be getting better and better in every area of the game,” Cherney said.

Cherney also spoke about establishing leadership and team chemistry with a freshman-heavy team.

“Well — it should be everybody, and I think they’ve come together quite nicely as a group, and that’s all that we can ask for and you know it should never be just one or two players doing the leading, the leadership should come from everybody that we’ve got,” Cherney said.

Sophomore pitcher Zach Waslewski added his viewpoint about the chemistry of the team and the importance of winning.

“Honestly — just winning. The team has had time to grow much closer since the fall, we all just want to go out and win for each other,” Waslewki said.

The Artichokes pitching staff is off to a hot start.  So far, they have the second lowest ERA in the conference at 2.52. The team is looking forward to their upcoming games and are determined to continue their success on the mound while working to improve their offense.

Freshman first baseman Keanu Spenser talked to nevalleynews.org about the mental part of the game as he looks for continued success at the plate.

Spenser has had a good start to the year, leading the team with five RBI and a home run. Even as a freshman he has quickly embraced the role as one of the key players in the lineup.

“It’s huge, I think the mental part of baseball can sometimes be more important than the physical aspect of the game,” Spenser said.

Cherney seems to have a simple recipe for success and his approach to the remainder of the season.

“You know — what the way that we look it is we’re just trying to get a little bit better every single day and if we can do that, you know and then obviously if we improve and we get closer to playing to our capabilities then we’ll have an opportunity to compete in the end and that’s what we’re looking for,” Cherney said.