Castaic Coyotes baseball has been celebrated as CIF champions throughout the area, section and now in the majors.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene donated cleats to the entire Coyote baseball program on Wednesday to honor its championship in just the program’s second year of varsity.
Greene, a Santa Clarita native, provided two pairs of various Nike cleats to over 60 Castaic baseball players. The pitcher’s mother, Senta Greene, runs Full Circle Consulting Systems Inc., which provided the cleats, while father, Russell Greene, was there to help the Coyotes get the shoes.
Castaic senior Diego Spross and the team have been enjoying the limelight since Friday’s title game.
“We saw like all the stuff about us in the news and now the shoes we’re receiving from Hunter Greene,” Spross said. “It’s just a blessing because it means that all the hard work that we put into the team and fighting for the (SCV), fighting for everything, now it’s paying off. We’re getting a lot of notice out here and it’s just a great feeling.”
Spross was grateful to receive yet another great gift from Greene, who joined Castaic at practice almost two years ago. The Reds pitcher helped the young program’s players in all aspects of the game.
“Thank you so much Hunter Greene,” Spross said. “Thank you for always being there for us. I remember that time he came out and practiced with us. The whole practice he was teaching us drills for pitching and talking a lot to the pitchers. He was amazing.”
The cleats came just in time as Castaic’s long season will continue next week in the CIF SoCal Regional Championships. Numerous players said their cleats were falling apart now that their season is nearing its fifth month.
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Greene’s donation was north of $12,000 and greatly appreciated by the entire Castaic baseball program.
All parties will return to action soon, as Castaic enters Regionals on Tuesday, while Greene is set to start on Friday against the Cubs. The Coyotes program will be rooting for their guy, who keeps coming through for the team and the sport in the SCV.
“I actually just saw him on TV the other day playing against the Yankees,” Spross said. “It’s amazing knowing how far you can make it if you work hard.”
