Making the grade
Garrett Rau overcame issues in the classroom and now stars for Scorpion baseball team
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers GOLDEN BAT, GOLDEN ARM- Garrett Rau makes contact with the ball as he works on his swing at batting practice on Wednesday. Rau is the team's leadoff hitter and No. 1 pitcher this season.

Baseball wasn't Garrett Rau's problem.

Rau, a Camarillo High senior, has long been blessed with the ability to hit and pitch a ball, field a position and run the bases. Rau always makes sure every aspect of his game is top-notch at all times.

At the onset of the school year, however, Rau wasn't paying much attention to the other facet of the student-athlete relationship. His grades were substandard, and, for a brief time late last fall, Rau wasn't allowed to play on the Scorpion baseball team.

"Baseball is so important to Garrett," Camarillo head coach Richard Jaquez said. "It kind of woke him up a little bit. It was probably one of the first times in his life that he didn't have baseball.

"We told him he needed to take care of (his grades) or he wasn't going to be here and we'd need to get somebody else up and ready to go."

Jaquez said the move to sit Rau was a baseball-first decision.

"If I would've had him playing in the offseason- in the winter during first semester playing in our games at shortstop- and then had to replace him at the last second, that wouldn't have helped anybody," Jaquez said. "That was the No. 1 reason. Luckily for me it worked out well."

By the end of the first semester, Rau's grades had improved to the point where he could rejoin the team. He said he's grateful to Jaquez for taking him back.

"He gave me a second chance," Rau said. "I kind of messed up at the beginning of the year, and he gave me a second chance. He's a good guy and a good coach. He helps the team out a lot."

With a college career on his mind, Rau, who transferred from Buena following his sophomore year, knows he can't afford to let bad grades interfere with his favorite sport.

"It's a life lesson," he said. "You've got to go to school and get an education if you want to play baseball."

With the off-field issues in his rearview mirror, Rau and his Scorpion teammates exploded out of the gate this season and never bothered looking back.

Entering today's Pacific View League matchup against Channel Islands, Camarillo has an 18-2 overall record and a 10-0 mark in league play. ACHS was ranked second in the latest CIF-Southern Section Division II coaches' poll.

From the production of Jacob Mahan, the team's on-base and hitting machine, to the power of juniors Nathan Johnson and Bryan Wilson, the Scorpions have been running roughshod over opposing pitchers to the tune of 10.8 runs per game on offense.

On the mound Mike Sliger, Jon Erb, Justin Bricker and Pete McCarthy have combined for 77 strikeouts and 13 victories.

No player, though, has been as vital to Camarillo's success as Rau.

As the team's leadoff hitter, he shares the ACHS lead in home runs (four) and RBI (24), is second in batting average (.473) and slugging percentage (.824), and ranks third in steals (four).

In addition, Rau is the team's No. 1 starting pitcher. He's 5-1 on the season with a 1.27 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched. His command has been phenomenal, having struck out 44 batters while issuing only two walks.

To top it all off, Rau flashes some serious leather when he's playing shortstop. He's so good in the field, in fact, that Jaquez said the team is vulnerable defensively when Rau is working off the mound.

"We're kind of in a catch-22 there," the coach said, "but you've just got to go with it."

As a three-year varsity player- one season at Buena and two at Camarillo- Rau has continued to improve year in and year out. It was during the past summer that Rau may have taken his biggest strides on the diamond.

In early August, Rau was a member of the Thousand Oaks District 13 team that won the Big League World Series in South Carolina. He said traveling to different venues and playing in front of large crowds against teams from around the world was an awesome experience.

"Staying in hotels and bonding together, that was real fun," Rau said. "I wish this team could go out of state. That's where you come together. That's when you start playing your best ball."

Jaquez said he noticed a change in Rau's game when he returned from playing on the Thousand Oaks squad.

"I definitely thought his pitching was a little bit further along than it was during his junior year," Jaquez said. "I also thought he was hitting for a little more power when we started up again. It was a good thing for him."

Now that he's got a World Series title, Rau is getting a little bit greedy. He wants more and is confident the Scorpions have what it takes to go all the way to Dodger Stadium for the CIF-SS Division II championship game.

"CIF. CIF. That's all that's in our head," Rau said. "We'll need a few things to go our way, to get a few breaks, but we have the talent to do it. It would be fun, no doubt, playing on that perfect field."