WESTLAKE — First-year Oaks Christian baseball coach Rick Hirtenstein grappled with a pitching net, forcing the fresh netting across the metal frame. Few things have changed since he came to Oaks from his previous coaching home at Pepperdine.
“It was a little different getting used to overseeing three levels with a varsity, JV and frosh team,” Hirtenstein said. “Other than that, it’s just baseball.”
The Lions (5-3) are staying true to themselves this season, knowing their roles and not overcomplicating them amid early success. It’s just baseball, as Hirtenstein says.
They hit their stride with back-to-back wins against Harvard-Westlake and Saugus before faltering against Moorpark, which they had beaten 9-2 roughly two-and-a-half weeks prior.
Oaks Christian scored three runs in the seventh inning — which included a walk-off home run by Quentin Young. James Latshaw pitched 5 1/3 innings and hit a home run earlier in the game.
“Winning on that walk-off was huge,” Latshaw said. “If we play like that against those teams, then we won’t lose a lot of games.”
Young has hit six home runs this season and has a slugging percentage of 1.038, which is a dramatic uptick from the one homer he hit last season. The 6-foot-6 LSU commit said he found his swing over the winter and is heeding advice from his uncles Dmitri Young and Delmon Young, two former MLB players.
“Just stay calm,” he said. “Let the process go, just keep doing what I’m doing and don’t try to change much.”
Young has already been etched into Oaks Christian baseball lore after lacing a home run over the center field fence at Leko Field, which reportedly has never been done at the park before. The full distance of the hit is unknown but the nearest marker is 405 feet, according to Oaks Christian athletics.
“It’s impressive to watch,” Hirtenstein said. “I’ve coached in college for 28 years and have never seen a guy like him and he just turned 18. He’s still getting better.”
Young consistently bats third in the lineup and is followed up by Latshaw, who is always in the middle of the lineup. The senior owns the second-best batting average on the team at .409 and has the second-most RBI with seven in addition to being one of three starting pitchers.
Focusing on himself has helped him garner success.
“For how good (Young is) playing, you want to be like that,” Latshaw said. “But trying to stay myself and trying to not do too much and stay in my own rhythm rather than try to like live up to a teammate’s is helping a lot of us.
“We have some five-tool players and then some people that really excel in specific aspects. That brings us together pretty well.”
Latshaw and Young were freshmen when Oaks Christian won a Division 3 championship in 2022. They’ve both worked to develop the team’s chemistry and rhythm since that point while focusing on the little things.
Little things like working hard in practice even when there are no fields available. Each swing in the batting cage is mindful in a way that prepares the Lions for in-game situations.
“My freshman year is when they won it, and so I saw their their practices — they took it very seriously,” Latshaw said. “Every little thing, every detail. They had talent for sure, but they took the little details very seriously and we’ve done the same.”
Oaks Christian begins Marmonte League play with a three-game series against Calabasas that’s slated to begin on Tuesday at Oaks. The Lions are going for their first league title since they shared it with the Coyotes in 2023.
They’re confident in their chances at winning it, then using their simple yet powerful team dynamic to make a lengthy CIF playoff run.
“We have a lot of players ready to go in at different times,” Young said. “It may not be the best going for that game but someone’s ready to go in and when we need it, they’ll be ready.”