Ortiz owns recruitment

While some recruits wait for colleges to reach out and make the initial contact, Sequoia catcher Chris Ortiz has a different strategy.

"My school isn't really known for baseball so I feel I really wouldn't have gotten much recognition if I hadn't put myself out there," Ortiz said.

After reaching out, Ortiz has talked to the University of Arizona, Washington State, Sonoma State, Central Washington and UC San Diego.

"They've just been saying that they've seen my academics, the've seen my stats and they are interested, so they've invited me to their camps," Ortiz said.

Ortiz finished his junior season of high school, but is playing on a U-19 team this summer and recently participated in the BAWS High School Showcase.

"At the showcase I thought I was really good defensively, my hitting was ok," Ortiz said. "It was my first showcase so I was a little nervous, but I got over it. I kind of realized that you're playing in front of people who watch baseball all the time, they know what they're seeing, but you can't be intimidated by that. Once you start playing the game you always play, your focus turns to just playing."

Despite a .397 batting average and .478 on-base percentage in his junior season, Ortiz - who is interested in either an earth sciences program or environmental studies and prefers to play college on the West coast - wants to spend his final year of high school improving the offensive facets of his game.

"I think last year was my best year hitting and I want to keep that going," Ortiz said. I feel I'm pretty solid defensively, but hitting is what I need to work on most. A big emphasis on that is practicing more and trying to become a good situational hitter."

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