By Mike Wood

Special to Chabot Athletics

It's quite evident Chabot baseball slugger Matt Sugden is a real student of the game.
Certainly his astounding .364 batting average, five home runs and 36 hits show he knows quite a bit about baseball. 

He's one of the key reasons why the Gladiators (16-10) are on a three-game win streak, and have taken five of their last six games. Chabot returns to Coast Conference-North action on April 5 at Skyline, the team directly ahead of the 4-4 Gladiators in the standings.

Sugden's been at this game for 16 years, starting when he was just 4.

Being a good student is second-nature to Sugden. His mother, Vangi, is a vice principal at Granada High School in Livermore. His father, Scott, is the mathematics department chair at Mission San Jose High in Fremont. There was no leeway to slack in school for Matt.

"Not too much, maybe a little was all right," he said in jest.

He applied his baseball smarts at Foothill High School in Pleasanton. As a senior, he batted .325 with 19 RBI and and eight doubles for a team that reached the North Coast Section Division I semifinals, when they fell to eventual champion De La Salle from Concord.

Foothill coach Angelo Scavone sure appreciated having Sugden in the program. He says Sugden could always hit but is finding more consistency at Chabot.

"He has a relaxed demeanor, but he's a bulldog on the field. Got that fire. He'll be a good pickup for somebody (at the higher levels)," Scavone said on Monday.

True to form, Sugden continues to learn at Chabot, which he transferred to in 2021 from San Francisco State. He credits Gladiators head coach Will Tavis and his staff with a more relaxed approach at the plate that is paying off big.

"They've helped me stay really consistent, keep me calm and feel more relaxed and more prepared," he said.

Consider Tavis impressed. He's thrilled to have Sugden aboard.

"He's an outstanding person and an outstanding player," Tavis beamed. "He will be successful in anything he does in life. We are lucky and grateful to have him in our program."

The numbers will continue to add up for Sugden, who plans to study applied mathematics. It makes complete sense paired with his baseball pursuits, not to mention his mathematical lineage.
Sugden has mainly been manning first base, though he can play some catcher, too. 

Along those lines, Scavone remembers Sugden as a "strong kid and kind of a stout catcher - a catch-and-throw guy -and he's got some pop with the bat."

There's a lot of pop in the Chabot lineup overall.

Sam Gilliam from Dublin High is now leading Chabot with a sizzling .373 batting average. Brian Duroff from Monte Vista-Danville at .356 is Chabot's third slugger over the .350 mark. Given all three honed their skills during high school in the East Bay Athletic League, it bodes well for