Stevenson baseball

 The traditional late starts for spring sports at Stevenson because of an extended spring break at the end of February often leads to its baseball team playing catchup well into the season.
 The school shuts down, border students leave, while school expeditions are planned during the 13 day layoff, leaving sport programs shorthanded.
 The Pirates didn't even have a non-league season to iron out their deficiencies. Yet, eight games into the Mission Trail Athletic League season and they're title contenders.
 Stevenson split its series' with Gonzales, Greenfield and Carmel and swept Marina. As a result, it sits with seven other teams, separated by two games at the mid-point of league play.
 The Pirates, who will look to stay sharp with three non-league games this week while the rest of the MTAL is on break, have posted a team 3.23 earned run average.
 Ben Mudd and Daniel Garrett have both won a pair of league games, with Garrett striking out 10 in a win over Greenfield, and getting the win in relief against Carmel.
 Mudd also caught fire with his bat in the teams last game, driving in four runs, while Andrew Prince and Josh Peyton have each driven in a team high eight runs in eight games.
 The Pirates have been clutch in tight games, having gone 2-0 in one-run battles with Rylend Young and Skye Crawford each having game-winning hits.
 There is a window of opportunity for the Pirates, whose win over Carmel snapped a 12-game losing streak. Titles have been far and few, as the last MTAL title occurred 36 years ago.