Though the 2023 season may not have went as planned for the Denair High varsity baseball team, one positive takeaway was the breakout of sophomore pitcher Kaden Prine.

The Coyotes achieved a 5-11 overall record and a 4-10 record in the Southern Athletic League this year, which was good enough for sixth place. Prine started nine of the team’s 16 games, and although his record shows 3-4, the sophomore was one of the most dominant pitchers in the region, who throws a fastball, curveball and slider.

Of the 20 runs given up while he was on the bump, just four were earned. In 48 2/3 innings pitched, he had exactly 100 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.58. Additionally, the batting average of opposing batters was .118.

During the regular season, which ended on May 5, Prine was in top 15 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section in ERA and was the only pitcher to crack 100 punchouts. Turlock Christian ace Gavin Farinha came in second with 97 regular season Ks.

To put the strikeout statistics in further perspective, the 15-year-old averaged 2.05 punchouts per inning and had a strikeout rate of 48.5%.

With longtime ace Jackson Hart graduating this summer, Denair head coach Mike Stucker and his team will continue to rely heavily on the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder come his junior year next spring.