By his own s, Trent Abel was the tag-along little brother when Chad, who is three years older, started playing baseball.
Trent, then just 4, never really got involved in other sports.
“I picked up baseball pretty quickly,’’ Abel said. “I trailed around after him the rest of my life.’’
And he has never regretted playing baseball.
Abel, now a 6-foot senior shortstop at Rancho Bernardo High, is closing in on his final days as a Bronco before moving on to play next fall at Cal State Northridge.
“I feel baseball is the only sport I played growing up,’’ Abel said. “I was good at it right away. I don’t really care about watching or playing any other sport.’’
Like all seniors, Abel’s high school athletic career was sharply curtailed courtesy of the coronavirus in the spring of 2020.
By the time his sophomore season rolled around, Abel was back playing baseball again and at the same position — shortstop — after the starter from the year before graduated.
He’s now in his third season in the middle of the infield.
“We had a great team, even started 14-0,’’ Abel recalled from 2021. “We spiraled downward the rest of the season for various reasons.’’
The Broncos went 11-8 after the fast start.
His junior season turned out better, although Abel was afraid it would be a disappointing replay of the previous season.
The Broncos, according to Abel, were better than their 21-13 record.
This final season at Rancho Bernardo has started quickly again.
The Broncos are 7-1 despite the rash of rainfall that’s hit San Diego County, with a one-run loss to Torrey Pines being the lone blemish.
The Falcons have outscored opponents 68-19 thus far.
“We’re firing on all cylinders this year,’’ Abel said. “We’re hitting well and our defense is terrific.’’
Through the ups and downs, Abel’s offense has never suffered.
He hit .311 as a sophomore, .324 as a junior and is at .407 through the first eight games.
“He gets the most out of his body on the field,’’ Rancho Bernardo coach Jeff Baumback said. “He knows how to maximize his effort all the time. He has gotten stronger, and he’s become a critical piece of our team.
“You can’t see him play once and fully appreciate him. You have to see him play five or six times. Northridge is getting a really good player.’’
No slump can chase Abel away from the game. He intends to keep playing baseball as long as he can.
After that, he may wind up trying to coach a team somewhere.
“The competitiveness of baseball keeps me coming back the next day,’’ said Abel, whose favorite pro team is the Boston Red Sox. “I never stop learning something new. You have to build up every day.
“Since baseball is a game of failing, I’ve always been able to forget good or bad plays pretty quickly.’’
Abel said he chose Northridge to remain close to home while moving on in his baseball career.
He was not opposed to playing at a college on the East Coast, but the chance to play just a couple hours north of home was too good to up.
“My parents were pretty stoked when I picked CSUN,’’ Abel said. “I felt the weight of the world lifted when I finally picked a college.’’
And while he’s still undecided about a major in college, he is certain that a professional baseball career would suit him just fine.
“That’s the goal, to play pro ball,’’ Abel said. “That talent level is not intimidating.
“I feel I want to stay at shortstop, but I’ll play anywhere to get on the field.’’
When his playing days are done, Abel itted his ion mandates that he would like to stay in the dugout as a coach one day.
Now and then, Abel said a teammate would voice a complaint about boring practices or long games.
That fires up Abel.
“It’s one of my pet peeves,’’ he said. “When someone is not taking baseball seriously, I’ll say something to them.
“Practice may be boring, but you get better from practice.’’
And Abel embraces getting better every single day.
