The Santa Ynez baseball team has shown a keen ability to score runs this season.

Just look at the numbers.

The Pirates have scored 192 runs over the course of just 16 games.

After calculating some math, that comes out to 12 runs per game.

Even California’s top team according to MaxPreps, Orange Lutheran, is averaging just 5.4 runs per game.

“We’re firing on all cylinders,” coach Craig Gladstone said. “We are right where we need to be right now.”

Santa Ynez’s offense features not only Jaxon Glover, the CIF-Central Section’s top RBI producer, but also a handful of teammates who can square up the baseball.

The Pirates have five players that have driven in at least 14 RBIs this season. Their combined batting average is just under .370.

So what do they attribute it to?

“I’m a true believer of resting during spring break, especially with only 10-11 players on our roster,” Gladstone said.

Many teams in the area schedule three or four guaranteed games in different tournaments around the area. Fellow Ocean League member, Pioneer Valley, for example, hosted four games in a tournament against Los Angeles area teams.

“(The players) can relax, clear their minds and come back hungry,” Gladstone said. “It helped last season, so I schedule it that way on purpose.”

That’s not to say the players aren’t working. They are showing their own dedication and come out to the baseball diamond wanting to improve their game.

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“We met with our assistant coach and we got a lot of extra reps and hours on hours of hitting,” said Glover, who leads the team with a .519 batting average this season. “It’s been nice.”

The scheduling has certainly paid off. Santa Ynez returned to league play this week and scored a combined 29 runs over the last 10 innings.

Just this past Thursday, the Pirates put up 18 runs against Santa Maria.

Sophomore Kyle Heiduk finished the game a perfect 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and launched his first career home run over the right field wall.

“Over the break, I was hitting a lot,” said Heiduk, who has 17 RBIs this season. “I just took my time, thought about my past at-bats, what I could have done better and what adjustments I had to make.”

Heiduk has seen his offensive production grow since his freshman season.

In 53 at bats at the junior varsity level, he was batting .317 with three doubles and 10 RBIs. Now, his batting average has improved to .481 in 68 varsity at bats.

And it sure has helped out Glover and the rest of the offense.

“It takes a lot of pressure off of me,” Glover said. “I’m confident because I know I have guys in front of me and behind me that can mash the ball.”

It’s clear Santa Ynez is in a good place at this point in the season, but the Pirates know there are still plenty of games left on the schedule. Teams such as Pioneer Valley and Nipomo are nipping at their heels for the league lead, and the Central Section playoffs are just a month away.

After all, their goal is to win their first league title since 2017 and make a run during the postseason.

“I think these series (against Pioneer Valley and Nipomo in the upcoming weeks) will define our season,” Gladstone said. “We want to win the league. That has always been our goal.”