November was a month of celebration in the lives of Windsor High School baseball standouts Gary Hall and Trent Matthews, signing letters of intent to attend college on athletic scholarships.
Both made it official in a pair of recent signing ceremonies, with family, teammates, coaches and school administrators looking on.
“Where do I start with both of these young men, they’re both great in the classroom, on the field, in the cage and in the gym,” Jags baseball coach Dave Avila said. “They epitomize what it is to be a student-athlete. Both Gary and Trent are driven by wanting to be the best version of themselves and work hard to obtain it.”
Hall, a senior all-league pitcher and outfielder for the Jaguars, signed a letter of intent to attend San Jose State following high school graduation in 2021. He’s been at the core of a baseball resurgence at Windsor that led to a first-ever North Bay League Redwood Division championship in 2019. Although his junior campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he figures to be a key player for the Jags next spring.
“We look for Gary to be the ace of our fully-loaded pitching staff this year,” Avila noted. “In the four games we were able to play last year, he threw 14.1 innings, striking out 24 batters and posting a mere 1.47 ERA.”
Matthews, also a senior and one of the best outfielders in the Redwood Empire, committed to attend Lawrence Tech University next fall.
“Trent was leading our team in hitting last year and after four games, was batting .412 from the lead off spot in the lineup,” Avila said. “He is a tremendous centerfielder as well, not too many balls find the grass with him roaming center.” In a year that most will remember as the baseball season that wasn’t, the Windsor program continues to cultivate players that excel both on and off the field.
“I truly believe that both of these young men will be successful at the next level and can’t wait to see where their careers take them,” Avila said. “But for now, we’re getting ready for the 2021 season and hoping to hang another league banner (this time the Oak Division) in the gym.”
