Sports
Shaw's Third Act: Shortstop Has Bulldogs on the Rise
San Rafael's football and basketball star soon will turn his attention to baseball, where he leads a senior quartet that's prepared to help the Bulldogs make a playoff run.
The baseball team’s goal is to make the Marin County Athletic League playoffs this season.
That would mean moving up just two spots in the standings, which seems reasonable enough.
Especially if is healthy.
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That’s right, him again. The same guy who quarterbacked San Rafael to the MCAL football title and hit clutch shots for the North Coast Section-bound basketball team also plays baseball.
And plays it quite well.
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“His best sport is baseball,” insisted San Rafael coach Stan Switala. “I think he’s probably the best overall player in the entire league.
“He’s just a great all-around athlete. He has tremendous bat control. He’s a real solid fielder. He’s got good wheels. He’s got the complete package.”
Shaw, a senior and four-year varsity performer, will be in the middle of pretty much everything the Bulldogs do this season. He will bat third, play shortstop and serve as the team’s closer.
San Rafael, which went 6-12 in league play last season, also returns Honorable Mention all-league pitcher Zephan McIntyre-Bader, another senior who will play third base when he’s not on the mound. He also serves as the club’s cleanup hitter.
Shaw and McIntyre-Bader will be sandwiched in the batting order by seniors Alex Hellman and Conor Quinlan.
Hellman, the team’s first baseman, hit .271 with a wood bat last season and, according to Switala, has “good opposite-field power to the right side.”
Quinlan is an outstanding defensive catcher who Switala says “worked hard in the off-season with his bat.”
Junior Connor Wilson, the right fielder, is the fastest player on the team, according to Switala, and has been penciled into the leadoff spot.
Switala joined the San Rafael program the same year Shaw, McIntyre-Bader, Hellman and Quinlan were freshmen. He’s observed great growth.
“We’re going to be a little more competitive than last year,” he insisted. “We’re looking to make the playoffs.”
A key will be finding a second pitcher. The Bulldogs begin the season with Cole Vasconcellos and , a pair of seniors with varsity experience, battling for the No. 2 spot.
A wild card on the staff could be Shaw’s basketball teammate, , who missed the second half of the Bulldogs’ basketball season – and last year’s entire baseball season – with an ankle injury.
The left-handed pitcher is expected to be healthy enough to play baseball this season.
SAN RAFAEL’S 2011 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
Feb. 23, at Fremont (Oakland), 3:45 p.m.
March 4, at De Anza (Richmond), 3:45 p.m.
March 5, at Piedmont, 11 a.m.
March 8, NOVATO, 3:45 p.m.
March 11, MARIN CATHOLIC, 3:45 p.m.
March 15, at Redwood, 4:30 p.m.
March 18, TAM, 4:30 p.m.
March 22, at Drake, 4:30 p.m.
March 25, at Justin-Siena, 4:30 p.m.
March 29, SAN MARIN, 4:30 p.m.
April 1, at Terra Linda, 4:30 p.m.
April 5, vs. Branson at College of Marin, 4:30 p.m.
April 8, at Novato, 4:30 p.m.
April 11, RICHMOND, 3:30 p.m.
April 13, at Auburn Christian, 4 p.m.
April 16, TERRA NOVA, noon
April 19, at Marin Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
April 21, REDWOOD, 4:30 p.m.
April 26, at Tam, 4:30 p.m.
April 29, DRAKE, 4:30 p.m.
May 3, JUSTIN-SIENA, 4:30 p.m.
May 6, at San Marin, 4:30 p.m.
May 10, TERRA LINDA, 4:30 p.m.
May 12, BRANSON, 4:30 p.m.
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