Rosenfeld Helps Lead HW to Championship

Lifelong Palisadian Casey Rosenfeld circled the bases at Dodger Stadium, scoring what proved to be the game’s only run for Harvard-Westlake in the CIF Southern Section Division I championship game on May 31.

The center fielder singled to lead off the bottom of the third inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and came around to score on a single by junior Jack Flaherty, who led the Wolverines to a 1-0 win with a dominant 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout. Rosenfeld, a four-year varsity player and three-year starter, was recruited to play at Division III Kenyon College in Ohio this fall.

Defensively, Rosenfeld, who is 5’11”, 175 pounds and bats and throws right-handed, has been as close to flawless as possible. In four seasons, he made just one error in the outfield, playing both left and center field. He was voted by his coaches this season as the Defensive Player of the Year.

Harvard-Westlake head coach Matt LaCour attributes Rosenfeld’s success to one thing above all.

“The consistency he provides out there is his best asset,” LaCour said. “It’s not necessarily one thing that stands out, but he’s turned himself into a really good baseball player. He listens, and he’ll immediately put in the work to make adjustments. His coachability and character are off the charts.”

Taking extra time outside of Harvard-Westlake baseball to improve himself is something Rosenfeld takes pride in as well.

“On our team we’ve always stressed working really hard, coming to practice but also working on our own,” he said. “It’s just a tough game. When you succeed, it’s the little successes where you realize the hard work led to those successes, and I like the joy you get from working hard and getting those results.”

His outside pursuits included going to hitting coach Ernie Barron twice a week and working out with a trainer three times a week, working mostly on speed and agility, and he and his teammates would go out to the field to hit together from time to time.

Though Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, Rosenfeld, who hit close to .300 in his career at Harvard-Westlake and was a member of three straight Mission League championship teams, will be guaranteed a roster spot at Kenyon, a school he learned about at a baseball showcase in Sacramento. He said that Kenyon offers the ideal school mix.

“I think they’re the perfect blend of academics and baseball for me,” Rosenfeld said, adding that his dean at Harvard-Westlake reaffirmed those sentiments.

Rosenfeld attended Carlthorp School until sixth grade before moving over to Harvard-Westlake, and played in West L.A. Little League. He was a member of the 2007 U12 All-Star team that finished seventh overall in state, the farthest a U12 team from West L.A. had gone since 1961. Though he played soccer when he was younger, he quit around age 10 to focus on baseball.

Rosenfeld’s father Michael, who along with his mother Sonya is a television agent at CAA, pitched at Crossroads, and his brother, Willy, will transfer to PaliHi from Harvard-Westlake this fall and play linebacker on the football team.