Eagle Baseball Team Improved in 2023, Players Collect Postseason Awards

The Eagle baseball team averaged 15 runs per game during a season-ending three-game winning streak in late April.

It was a sweet finish to a challenging season that was often interrupted by rain and snow.

But the 2023 Eagles,

Rebuilding under first-year head coach Tevin Cadola, the 2023 Eagles won 3 more games than the previous year. It wasn't as many wins as they wanted but, "Improvement is improvement," Cadola said. "You can't rebuild overnight."

Three Eagle sophomores earned Golden Valley Conference honors. Catcher Connor Jones and outfielder Dewitt Nunery were named All-GVC 2nd Team, and righthanded pitcher Carson Jones was All-GVC Honorable Mention.

The Jones brothers also received two of the Eagles' three postseason team awards. Connor was named MVP and Carson took home the pitching staff's Cy Young award.

Liam Gwyn, who is expected to return next year, received the team's EAGS award, so named because it recognizes a player for their Energy, Attitude, Grit, and Selflessness.

(See award details below.)

The Eagles finished their season winning 3 games in a row and 5 of their last 6, all on their home field. They beat Shasta twice, lost to Redwoods 12-2 on April 26, then bashed Redwoods 14-4 and 19-11 on April 27 and 13-3 the following day.

In the 14-4 win, Dewitt Nunery doubled twice, hit a home run, went 4 for 5 and drove in 5.

Among the Eagles' 15 hits, Connor Jones doubled, singled and drove in a run. Caughlin Shults tripled and drove in 2. Devyn Engdahl doubled and drove in 2. Taiyo Kurosawa and Kekai Ferguson had 2 hits apiece. Dylann Battye singled and drove in a run.

Carson Jones pitched a 7-inning complete game, striking out 6 and walking 2 while allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs.

Both teams had 14 hits in the game that followed. The Eagles trailed 11-9 before they broke it open with 10 runs in the bottom of the 8^th.

Seven different Eagles took a turn on the mound. Starting pitcher Geoffrey Allen went 5 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 8 hits while striking out 6 and walking 2. Jase Rothenberger earned the win after retiring the only batter he faced in the top of the 8^th. Devyn Engdahl pitched the 9^th.

Only 3 of the Eagles' 10 runs in the 8^th inning were earned. They scored 4 on fielding errors, 3 on walks with the bases loaded, 1 on a wild pitch, 1 on a sacrifice fly by Engdahl, and 1 on a single by Aidan Hermansen.

Drew Raebel hit a 3-run home run in the 1^st that gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead. He also doubled, singled, and finished with 5 RBI. Taiyo Kurosawa went 3 for 5 with a walk, 2 RBI, and 4 runs scored. Battye had 2 hits, including a double, and scored 3 times. Dante Bravo tripled, and Nunery's unusual box score line showed 3 at-bats, no hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs batted in.

The Eagles celebrated their sophomores at the start of the next day's season finale, and many of them finished with performances worth celebrating, including Ryelen Samson (2 RBI), Dewitt Nunery (1 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs), Connor Jones (2 doubles, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Kekai Ferguson (2 doubles, 3 runs, 2 RBI), Devyn Engdahl (1 hits, 1 run, 2 RBI), Blake Boyes (1 hit, 1 run, 1 RBI), Dante Bravo (single, double, walk, 2 runs, 1 RBI), and Caughlin Shults (single, double, 1 run, 2 RBI).  

Three sophomore pitchers also shined. Starter Callan Vreim went 6 innings and earned the win. He gave up 7 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 4 and walking 3. Then Kameron Saucedo and Austin Jaramillo each threw a scoreless inning.

Sophomores recognized before the game included Carson Jones, Jakob Kinney, Coleton Padilla, and Juanluis Jimenez, who all pitched the previous day, and sophomore pitcher Zakk Gibbons, who has committed to transfer to Emmanuel College, an NCAA Division II four-year school in Georgia.

Cadola said Callan Vreim has also signed to play at the next level at Corban College in Salem, OR, which is affiliated with the NAIA.

Other Eagles are weighing four-year offers, including freshman Taiyo Kurosawa, who has an offer to play at the NCAA Division I level. "It's hard to turn down a DI offer," Cadola said. "If he comes back, great, we'd love to have him. If he takes the offer, that's my job, too."   

The season-ending winning streak left the Eagles 13-26 overall and 6-19 in conference. Cadola said, "It's hard to be upset" about how the season went, "given the adversity we faced with the weather. It was very unusual weather, and we did a great job every day competing and getting better, in the gym, in the weightroom, wherever. It's a testament to our players' focus, hard work, and willingness to grow."

Cadola said he has "very high expectations for next year," regardless of the weather, thanks to the support the team gets from college. "They bought us an indoor batting cage, which was a huge sign of support. The AD went to bat for us."

The coach said he's "most excited about the continuous development of the program. He's optimistic the team "can continue to develop, continue to make small strides. There's no reason we can't continue to improve until we get to 25 or 30 wins a year. Recruiting will be easier when we have things to attract them, like improving the weightroom and facilities. That will help us be able to pull athletes we need to get to the next level."

Award winners

Connor Jones – Second Team All-GVC and Eagles' team MVP. "The number one thing about Connor is his unparalleled leadership qualities," said Cadola. "He's like having a fourth assistant coach. He worked with the pitchers as a coach and was a leader for the team. He led by voice and example. I could depend on him when my eyes weren't there. He held guys accountable to the level coaches do. He was so valued. I could trust him to see things I maybe didn't see… I would take him right now if he wanted to be a coach for us."

Connor led the Eagles overall with a .358 batting average, .466 on base percentage, 34 hits, and 8 doubles. He tied for the team lead with 18 walks, was second behind Drew Raebel with a .505 slugging percentage, and only struck out 11 times in 30 games. He ranked 9^th among GVC players in overall batting average, 7^th in on base percentage, 13^th in slugging, and had the fourth lowest strikeout rate among players in conference with more than 60 at-bats.

Dewitt Nunery – Second Team All-GVC. Cadola described Nunery's swing as "extremely whippy. He hits the ball really hard and makes defensive guys uncomfortable." But the coach praised him even more for making it a priority this season to become better at hitting curve balls.

Always able to hit fast balls, Cadola said Nunery "struggled as a freshman and was fighting for playing time because he wasn't great at making adjustments in the box." He made those adjustments this year, and it showed late in the season. Over the final four series of the season, Nunery raised his GVC batting average from .280 to .314 and raised his overall average to .344. That improvement "was directly tied to his Second Team All-GVC placement," Cadola said. "It was great for him to prove he could do it and improve his stock to go to the next level. He started receiving interest from four-year schools."

Nunery led the Eagles with 21 runs batted in, and his .344 overall average and .423 on base percentage were both second-best on the team. He tied for second with Taiyo Kurosawa with 31 hits.

Carson Jones – All-GVC Honorable Mention, Eagles' team Cy Young award. Coach Cadola said, "I could run him out there every Friday for the first game of a series and he would command the zone throwing strikes. He led us to victories." Cadola believes Carson could have made All-GVC if "things would have rolled his direction. He was a leader of the team and took control of the pitching staff. He took stress off my shoulders with the pitching staff and helped make sure guys developed." Like his brother Connor, Cadola said he would take Carson "right now" as a coach if he wanted to join the staff.

Carson led Eagle pitchers overall with 55 strikeouts, 65.2 innings pitched, and a strikeout per 9 innings rate of 7.54, which was 8^th best among GVC players. In conference play, he ranked 6^th among GVC pitchers with 35 strikeouts in 42.2 innings.

Liam Gwyn – Team EAGS award. Cadola said Gwyn brought the qualities the award represents -- energy, attitude, grit, and selflessness -- every day, even though his role on the team wasn't what he would like it to be. "That's hard to do when you're not playing every day, but he was a good teammate who always brings energy and is willing to go the extra mile to help us get closer to winning. He shows up expecting to start but accepts his role. I appreciated that." Cadola said he's looking forward to Liam returning to the team next year.

By Steve Gerace