After a terrific campaign last year, the Santa Clara Bruins, led in part by then junior pitcher Marc Lujan, moved up from the El Camino to the De Anza league for the 2020 baseball season. That meant Lujan and the rest of his Bruins teammates would get to face rival Wilcox twice during league play.
“That’s a game I’ve been looking forward to for a while now,” admitted Lujan when asked about the potential rivalry game. “I wanna show what we are capable of.”
Unfortunately for Lujan and the Bruins, it appears more likely as time goes on that they won’t be able to play that rivalry game this season. It’s particularly disappointing for Bruins supporters because in the time Lujan has been at Santa Clara, the program has made significant strides. Considered by many to be a team that will never be able to compete with Wilcox, the Bruins have long been hungry to prove otherwise. One could see the potential developing four years ago.
As a freshman Lujan was part of a strong JV squad under Head Coach Pedro Martinez, who is now a varsity assistant. Lujan has spent the past three years on varsity and is highly respected by his teammates and the entire coaching staff.
“I’ve been proud to be his coach for three seasons now,” said Martinez on Lujan. “He’s the definition of a program player. Always been about the team and his teammates’ success. Silent leader outside the lines, but once inside the lines he’s a bulldog. I’m going to miss his easy-going personality and his poise out on the field. I wish I could have him and all my seniors for one more season.”
Describing himself as more of a finesse pitcher, Lujan talked about his ability to spot locations and utilize his curveball to get hitters off balance no matter the count. The 5’9” right hander actually referenced former Major League southpaw Barry Zito, as a pitcher he admired for those same qualities.
“I always liked Zito because he had one of the grossest curveballs ever,” chuckled Lujan. “Also was great at hitting his spots.”
For Bruins fans, hopefully they haven’t seen the last of Lujan’s curveball, one that is pretty nasty in its own right.