The Cuesta Baseball team won the 2023 Western State Conference (WSC) title, the program's 20th, and was well represented on the loop's all-conference teams with a dozen players among those recognized. The Cougars placed nine players on the first two teams, including WSC Pitcher of the Year Robinson Lardner (Templeton HS, Pict-L), and added 2023 WSC Coach of the Year honors for Coach Bob Miller (pict-R). Cuesta also nabbed the #8-seed in the 2023 CCCAA Regional Playoff but were eliminated by #17-seed Los Angeles Valley in the First Round. The Cougars, who have missed the post-season only four times since 1990, were 25-16-1 on the season.
Freshman Pitcher Robinson Lardner was honored as the 2023 Western State Conference Pitcher of the Year, which earns him a spot on the All-State team. Lardner's talent and versatility allowed him to anchor both ends of the Cougars' staff. He split his team-leading 17 appearances between the rotation and the bullpen with nine starts and eight stints in relief. His 71.0 innings on the season were second on the team, as were his six wins (against one loss). Lardner also led the team with three saves and tied for the team lead with two complete games, while pacing the staff with both 79 strikeouts and a 2.15 earned run average. In the post-season, he hurled 7.2 scoreless innings, while striking out eight batters and allowing only three baserunners in the Cougars' losing effort.
Two-time All-State selection Zachary Tallerman (Berkeley HS) moved over to first base and, once again, was a unanimous selection to the all-Western State Conference First Team, as well as a repeat all-State selection. Tallerman played Third Base as a freshman, when he was tabbed the 2022 Western State Conference Player of the Year and returned this year on the other side of the diamond. Tallerman enjoyed another monster season at the plate with nine home runs and 37 runs batted in, while pacing the team with a .367 batting average. Opposing teams tried to pitch around him, however his 37 walks, plus seven beanballs, only served to boost his on-base percentage to a team-best .500. All those free passes helped Tallerman rack up 43 runs, which ranked 2nd on the team. Tallerman leaves a long legacy as only the fourth two-time all-State player at Cuesta. He ends his Cuesta career ranked 9th all time in Doubles (28), 3rd in Home Runs (18), 8th in Runs Batted In (98) and 4th in Slugging Percentage (.631).
Freshman Lefthander Luigi Albano-Dito (Sonoma) was named to the 2023 All-Western State Conference First Team. Albano-Dito went 5-1 over his ten starts, which included a complete game. He posted a solid 3.41 ERA and was third on the team with 68.2 innings on the hill. Albano-Dito was at his best against the Western State Conference, where he was 4-0 over 46.1 innings with a 2.91 ERA.
Freshman Shortstop Victor Heredia (Santa Ynez HS) featured in the middle of everything as he earned a spot on 2023 All-Western State Conference First Team. He handled the pivot on defense, pitched and batted in the middle of the Cougars' order. On defense, he collected a team-high 123 assists and was part of 17 double plays. He also made four appearances on the mound, where he went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA, but was also second on the team with two saves. Heredia made his biggest impact in the middle of the batting order. He was second on the team with 19 extra-base hits, including a team-high 12 doubles, and was one of three players on the team to score and drive in 30 or more runs (34). He batted .293 overall.
Rightfielder Mattias Sessing (Westlake Village) batted second in the Cougars' order and was the team's facilitator on offense, while also earning a Gold Glove in the field. Sessing earned a promotion from the all-WSC Second Team as a freshman to the 2023 All-WSC First Team. Sessing was second on the team with 36 runs batted in and third on the team with 42 runs scored, but made his mark putting his teammates first. His team-high 14 sacrifice hits were one shy of the school's single season record and he also ranks second all time with 22 career sacrifice hits.
Centerfielder Ethan Royal (Arroyo Grande HS) also made the jump from all-WSC Second Team as a freshman in 2022 to the 2023 All-WSC First Team. Royal, like Sessing, also earned a WSC Gold Glove as part of the Cougars' airtight outfield. Royal batted at the top of the order and was the Cougars' offensive catalyst. He batted .320 on the season, with 18 extra-base hits, and was second on the team with a .412 on-base percentage. He also owned a team-high 18 stolen bases.
Designated Hitter Liam MacDonald (Morro Bay HS) was accorded all-WSC First Team honors to conclude his career at Cuesta. MacDonald followed Tallerman in the order and feasted on opposing pitchers. Employing a hard line-drive stroke, he batted .289 on the season and added 10 doubles among his 14 extra-base hits.
Cuesta landed only two players on the WSC-circuit's Second Team with Starting Pitcher Justin Vose (Atascadero HS) and Outfielder Alex Hagen (Larkspur) earning the honors. Vose, a 2022 All-WSC Honorable Mention choice, was elevated to the loop's second squad as a sophomore. Vose joined Lardner and Albano-Dito as part of the Cougars' elite trio of southpaws. He was 5-2 on the season and boasted a 3.14 earned run average over 63.0 innings on the hill. Hagen's freshman campaign started slowly with only three appearances in February, but he distinguished himself in that third game by blasting a three-run home run in a win over WSC co-Champion Santa Barbara. Hagen batted .303 on the season, while adding two more home runs and driving in 28 runs.
Pitcher Jackson Cloud (Santa Ynez HS) joined the aforementioned trio of southpaws as the only righthander in the Cougars' rotation. Cloud did not garner as many accolades from the conference but did join Infielders Robert Mansour (LaVerne) and Justice Gibbons (Templeton HS) as 2023 All-WSC Honorable Mention picks. Cloud won a team-high seven games on the season, including a pair of shutouts, but was only 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA in WSC play. On the season, he owned a 2.51 ERA and tossed a team-high 68.0 innings. Mansour and Gibbons traded off positions as they covered either second or third base. Mansour batted .305 on the year and tied Ryan Kaplanek's 1997 Cuesta record of 18 hit-by-pitches, which bumped his on-base percentage above the .400-mark. Gibbons returned to action, after enduring two Covid seasons (2020 and 2021) and Redshirting in 2022. He batted .273 over 66 at-bats this season, which stands as Gibbons' first official collegiate season.
Catcher Dalton Cram (Riverside) joined Outfielders Ethan Royal and Mattias Sessing as WSC Gold Glove recipients. Cram, a 2022 All-WSC First Team choice, served as the Cougars' primary receiver and is renowned for his defensive intensity and handling of the Cougars' staff. He enjoyed an error free 2023 campaign and endured only four passed balls, while also gunning down eleven would be base thieves.
Coach Bob Miller earned his seventh Western State Conference Coach of the Year award since taking the helm in 2003. Cuesta ended the 2023 campaign with a 25-16-1 overall record and its tenth Western State Conference title season under Miller. The Cougars also reached the post-season for the 17th time over his past 19 full seasons on the bench. Miller, with his first win of the 2023 season, moved into first place for career victories among Cuesta's seven baseball coaches since 1966. His current total of 485 wins trails only former Cuesta Men's Water Polo Coach Terry Bowen (556) and current Men's Basketball Coach Rusty Blair (548) on the college's all-time win list.
2023 Western State Conference Baseball Awards
Robinson Lardner (LHP)- Pitcher of the Year (All State)
Zachary Tallerman (1B)- First Team (All State)
Luigi Albano-Dito (LHP)- First Team
Victor Heredia (SS)- First Team
Mattias Sessing (OF)- First Team & Gold Glove
Ethan Royal (OF)- First Team & Gold Glove
Liam MacDonald (DH)- First Team
Justin Vose (LHP)- Second Team
Alex Hagen (OF)- Second Team
Jackson Cloud (RHP)- Honorable Mention
Justice Gibbons (INF)- Honorable Mention
Robert Mansour (INF)- Honorable Mention
Dalton Cram (C)- Gold Glove
Bob Miller- Coach of the Year
