Mission baseball beats Templeton 3-0. SLO County league play just around the corner
Mission Prep’s baseball team has joined the Mountain League after finishing third in the Sunset League last year, and the Royals are looking to make their mark with an experienced squad and a welcome lefty addition.
The Royals (4-1) beat Templeton (3-4) 3-0 in a non-league contest on Tuesday behind six innings of shutout pitching from sophomore left-handed transfer Ty Bernal, who attended Nipomo High last year and played baseball for the Titans.
At Mission Prep’s home field on Tuesday, Bernal hit a three-run home run over the right-centerfield fence to supply the offense.
“It was the Ty Bernal day at Mission Prep,” said Royals Coach Elliot Stewart after the win. “He pitched all six innings, shut them down and then knocked one out to right center.”
Bernal hit a grand slam in an 11-1 win over San Luis Obispo on Monday, marking a standout week for the new addition to the roster.
Bernal’s arsenal includes a fastball that tops out at 84 to 85 miles per hour, a slider and a two-seam changeup, he said.
Stewart said that Bernal, along with sophomore Brady Orfile, who’s off to a hot start with a 3-0 record and a 1.05 ERA, figure to be the “workhorses” on the mound.
Outlook for the season
“The future is bright,” Stewart said. “We love those guys, and they’re coming into sophomores and handling business, and we got some older guys coming in after them that should shut it down. So I like our pitching. We could use a guy or two to really help out, but we’re in pretty good shape on the mound.”
Junior Thomas Glenn, a San Diego State commit who primarily plays shortstop, and 6-foot-1 senior Armen Clayton, an outfielder and the team’s MVP in football, figure to see some innings as pitchers.
Glenn initially committed to Cal but changed his mind after the Berkeley coach left for a new program. Glenn is leading the team thus far early in the season with a .467 average, a home run, eight RBI and six stolen bases.
Glenn said he practices fielding about 100 to 200 ground balls each day and works out seven days per week, he said, while “always hitting, working on staying inside the ball, just trying to get the barrel to it.”
The Royals returned multiple basketball players who finished a deep postseason run last week, including Clayton, Hunter Drake, who hit .301 last year, and Brayden Mott, who hit .303.
For Templeton, Charlie Kline struck out three Tuesday and pitched five solid innings, giving up three runs. Aiden Abatti pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two.
Senior Andrew Raab is leading the Eagles with a .455 batting average and nine RBI, among the players who have participated in each of the seven games. Junior Luke Stetz is hitting .389.
League play begins
Playing in the new league will be a welcome challenge, Glenn said. The Royals are scheduled to face Righetti on Friday.
“The Mountain League is no joke,” Glenn said. “This year, we’ll have to face (CSU Northridge commit) Jack Jones from Lompoc. He’ll be tough. There are a few guys from St Joe’s. They got a few good arms, so Mountain League looks pretty solid. Hopefully we can keep producing and coming out on top with wins.”
Templeton will face Atascadero (3-2), San Luis Obispo (2-2), Paso Robles (1-3) and Pioneer Valley (3-2) in the Sunset League when league play begins on Thursday barring any rainouts.
Mission Prep will face Arroyo Grande (3-4) in Mountain League play along with four Santa Barbara County schools (Lompoc, Cabrillo, Righetti and St. Joseph).
In the Ocean League, Morro Bay (3-0) will match up against Nipomo (1-3) and three Santa Barbara County schools (Santa Maria, Orcutt Academy and Santa Ynez).
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)