Two years ago, Tamalpais Red-Tailed Hawks hats flew through the air and the College of Marin baseball field was charged in celebration. Tam varsity baseball took down San Marin in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) championship, their first in many years. Two years later, everything has changed. That powerful nucleus of Kaiden Dossa, Tyler Buxton, and Charlie Blau is long gone. Instead, Tam calls on its senior core this year to lead the way to a championship.
There is a new manager. When Nathan Bernstein left last year to take over La Cañada High School baseball, a large vacancy needed to be filled. Athletic director Nathan Johnson called for an in-building hire, Patrick Collins-Bride. Collins-Bride has been coaching baseball for many years, but this will be his first stint as a head coach. Collins-Bride has big expectations for the team.
“I mean, every team’s goal is to win a championship,” Collins-Bride said.
There were five underclassmen on that 2022 MCAL winning team. Eli Solem, Tito Firestein, Cooper Kift, Max Fiek, and Devin Curtis. This year, some believe Tam needs that championship experienced core to show them the way. (quote from devin curtis)
Marin County Baseball is at an all-time high, however. With multiple Division I commits, teams around the league are locked and loaded. Favorites include Novato, Redwood, and San Marin.
“Every series is gonna be a dogfight, and that’s just the way we like it,” Collins-Bride said, echoing the catchphrase of former head coach Bernstein.
However, Curtis, Tam’s starting catcher, is recovering from an ulnar collateral ligament injury, meaning he cannot play in the field. Collins-Bride calls on two young sophomores to fill the gap defensively: Anthony Murphy and Keegan Heidenreich. A significant amount of weight is being put on the sophomores’ shoulders, but the team remains confident in their abilities.
“These guys have worked their tails off to get to this moment, and it’s going to be a great experience for them,” Collins-Bride said.
“We are all feeling the confidence on and off the field and our team chemistry is off the charts,” Curtis added.
On the mound, Tam has no shortage of arms. University of California-Davis commit Eli Solem leads the way, along with lefties Jackson Van Til and Scott Ollinger. The team has depth as well: Juniors Hank Ballard, Henry Pearson, and Lars Jackson are set to take on a bulk of innings out of the bullpen.
“We all feel really confident and prepared. Our pitching staff runs deep, don’t sleep on these Hawks,” Ballard said.
The Hawks are off to a fiery start. After taking their first two games easily against De Anza and Vintage, the Hawks lost a 2-0 brawl to Casa Grande, a storied baseball program. League play begins on March 11, when Tam takes on San Rafael in a two-game series, and that’s where the fun begins. The MCAL banner is all the team is focused on at the moment, and league regular season seeding plays a big part in whether they get to that mountaintop.
“In June, I hope we’re having a talk about being champs,” Collins-Bride said.
