Everything seemed to go in the way of the Hughson High varsity baseball team on Thursday afternoon. In their final game of Trans-Valley League action against Hilmar High, the Huskies dominated in a 16-1 win. About 20 minutes after the last pitch was thrown by starter Max Mankins, they formed a dogpile down the right field line of their home park after hearing that the Ripon Indians defeated the Escalon Cougars 7-3, securing Hughson’s first league title since 2022.
“Oh, it feels great,” said Mankins, who gave up the one run to Hilmar off two hits and two walks while punching out six. “This is one of the things you're chasing from the start of the year. We knew we had a great team that could win this and we ended up getting it done.”
The opportunity to pitch in a league title-clincher was extra special for Mankins, who feared he could have missed the remainder of the season after dislocating the middle finger of his right hand on March 28. He ended up missing just three weeks, pitching in three of the Huskies’ last six games and improving his record to 7-0.
“I'm very glad that my coach trusts me coming back from the injury to go out there and throw again," he added. "And it's great for me personally too because when it first happened, I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, this could be a season-ender.’ But it didn't end up being so. I’m very happy about it.”
Entering Thursday, Hughson and Escalon had matching 10-1 conference records, each needing to win and the other to lose to capture the TVL title. After watching Ripon beat Escalon on the GameChanger app, their dogpile was followed up with a Gatorade bath for head coach Charly Garza.
“This team has been such a blessing,” Garza said. “We have great approaches. We have great hitters, we have great defense… “With the mindset we have and what we've been doing, I would’ve bet on us today. They were calm. They just wanted to come out and play ball one more time. I could see in their eyes. Their commitment to fix anything that's going on with them as far as their swings or pitching mechanics, you never have to talk to them. What you're thinking about telling them to fix, they're already doing it on their own. It's a special group and they deserve to be champions.”
The eyes of the Hughson hitters were sharp all game, working eight walks and three hits against Hilmar starter Jackson Takhar, who was pulled 1 ⅓ innings. By that time, the score was already 6-0. Leading the way for the Hughson offense was Caleb Wilson, who drove in a team-high three runs on two hits. In addition, Mankins, Beau Blake, JC Lupercio and Carlos Guizar reached base two or more times.
The lone bright spot for the Yellowjackets was a third inning home run down the right field line by Dakota Maynard.
The only thing Garza wishes he could change about the way this season has gone is the large gap in between games. The Huskies were in action for non-conference action Friday against Linden, defeating Linden 8-3. They must now await for Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets to be released on Saturday, with the first round slated to get underway on Wednesday.
“We're just going to be looking at the calendar to see how soon that game can get here,” Garza said. "This team is playing really good baseball right now. I actually wish they started (playoffs) tomorrow. The break can kind of make you cold. So we're going to play a lot of loose games out here. play some simulated games and try to keep them loose and getting them to see live pitching.”
Turlock caps off sweep of Pitman
A group of nearly 20 graduates last summer proved to be too much for Pitman High to recover from this season. A year after making a run to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 semifinals, the Pride will not appear in the postseason after being swept by crosstown rival and 2024 Central California Athletic League champion Turlock High.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs won the second game of the series by a 9-4 score. Carter Crivelli, Talan Castro and Mateo Valencia recorded two-hit games, though most of the scoring came courtesy of Andrew Sevilla, who walked with the bases loaded in the first inning before tagging Pitman pitching with a two-run double an inning later. On the mound, Andrew “Bubba” Lujan pitched all seven innings, with only one of the three runs scored against him being earned. In total, he gave up eight hits and a walk while striking out three.
Friday saw a similar result, with Turlock blanking the Pride 7-0. Mason Baker dominated on the bump, allowing just four baserunners (two hits, two walks) in his six innings of work while striking out five. In relief, Dutch Lawrence struck out the two batters he was tasked with in the seventh inning to end the game. Offensively, Crivelli and Castro once again catapulted the offense with three hits and an RBI apiece.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 20-8 overall record and a 12-2 record in the CCAL. With the losses, the Pride dropped to 13-14 overall and 7-7 in conference play, finishing in fourth place.
