Kentridge’s Barrera perfect fit at leadoff | Prep baseball

Isaac Barrera leads his baseball team both on and off the field.

The Kentridge High School senior is a captain and bats leadoff for the Chargers.

“He’s a three-year starter for us,” Kentridge coach John Flanigan said. “He has done a great job. He has been at the top of the order basically all three years. He sees a lot of pitches. He does a great job as a leadoff guy because he does see a lot of pitches and lets everybody see what the guy’s got.

“He’s more of a lead by example guy. He’s got a great personality, but he doesn’t get in guys’ faces. He works hard in practice.”

The center fielder said he enjoys batting first in the order.

“It is just kind of setting the tone for the team and puts us in a good position to score,” he said.

Barrera is versatile, excelling both offensively and defensively.

“He’s a very good outfielder,” Flanigan said. “He’s one of the best center fielders we have. He gets great reads on the ball and is just overall a very great player.”

Barrera started playing baseball when he was 7, following in the footsteps of older brother, Andrew, who also played at Kentridge.

Next year, Barrera plans to play baseball at Bellevue College, but for now his focus is on making the most of his senior season.

“I want us to play as hard as we can every game and stay focused and hopefully make a pretty good run in the playoffs,” he said. “I think we have a good chance if we all stay focused.”

The Chargers have a core group of seniors on this year’s squad.

“All the seniors are really close,” Barrera said. “We have all been playing since we were 7. We all played in the same Little League. … It’s our last year (together). Just knowing it is coming to an end is kind of sad.”

The team’s long history together has created a tight bond.

“Unlike high school basketball where you’ve got guys moving around all the time, these guys have been on their Little League team from the time they were 9, 10 years old, so they know each other well,” Flanigan said.

The team’s experience has it poised to do well this season.

“I think we will be competitive,” Flanigan said. “There’s always the Kentwoods and the Tahomas that are good every year, year in and year out. We try to be up there with those guys. Hopefully, we can sneak a couple from them this year. Last year, Tahoma got us in the last at bat all three games in a row, and Kentwood has been pretty dominate the last couple of years. We want to be up there in that mix and get in the playoffs.”

Kentridge was 8-12 last year in the regular season and was eliminated in the second round of the West Central District tournament.

The Chargers won their first two games this season. Games against Hazen High were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday after the Kent Reporter’s press deadline.

“I think we are very strong defensively,” Flanigan said. “I think we will swing it. We will score runs. Our pitching staff, I think if we throw strikes and keep it in the yard, we’ll be fine.”