After a successful stint as the starting shortstop for St. Joseph High School, Matt Hartin ended his Knights’ career as a king.
On June 3, coaches named Hartin the Los Padres League’s Most Valuable Player for the Spring 2009 season after the graduating senior hit .328 with 10 RBIs and a team-leading three homeruns.
For the talented team captain, the honor came as a shock.
“I was ecstatic. I didn’t think I was going to get it,” Hartin said. “I didn’t really believe it until I went home, because we had just gotten back from grad night so I was all tired and not really paying attention. Then I went home and read the paper and I was just stoked.”
Hartin helped the Knights to the ’09 California Interscholastic Federation playoffs with his arm as well, racking up a 2.47 earned run average and nine strikeouts in 11 innings.
St. Joseph finished the season tied for second in the league at 9-3 and sported an overall record of 15-10. On a team loaded with seniors who advanced to the CIF Southern Section quarterfinals the previous season, Hartin said he was disappointed with the Knights’ first-round loss to Whittier Christian on May 22.
“The pitcher just kept us off balance. He was hitting his spots and everyone was chasing the bad pitches when we shouldn’t have been,” Hartin said. “We just made easy outs. The hitting wasn’t there like it was all season.”
Despite the setback, Hartin looks back fondly on his senior season with the Knights, who made the CIF playoffs each of his three seasons on varsity.
“All the guys had been playing together since we were in Little League, so everyone knew each other, and we just had a lot of fun over the season,” Hartin said. “It was just a great group of guys and probably one of the funnest seasons I’ve ever had.”
Hartin has reason to be excited about the future. He’ll be attending Allan Hancock College in the fall and will take his familiar spot at short for the Bulldogs in 2010.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2009.
