Four Eagle Baseball Players Bag GVC Awards

Not much went as planned for the 2025 Eagle baseball team. But some bright lights shined through it all, especially the play of sophomores Dylan Fisher, Trey Bennett and Vinnie Gates and freshman AJ Duenez, who led the lineup with a .342 overall batting average.

Fisher, Duenez and Bennett were awarded the All-Golden Valley Conference 2nd Team honors, while Gates, a 1st Team pick as a freshman, garnered an Honorable Mention.

Fisher, Bennett and Gates were three of the 15 Eagle sophomores recognized on their home diamond before a late-season game against Redwoods on April 18. The others were Zane Winter, Matthew McCall, Giovanni Sanchez, Rylan Taylor, Julius Guanio, Tryce Bartlett, and pitchers Branson Paulette, Fernando Avalos, Skyler Doss, Nathan Baker, Allanson Reynolds, and Hunter Reginato.

Duenez, an infielder/DH from Lathrop, was one of 14 freshmen on the Eagles’ roster. His overall batting average of .342 and .438 on-base percentage both ranked top 15 in the hit-happy GVC. He led the Eagles with 22 RBIs and 11 hit-by-pitches while walking 10 times in 140 plate appearances over 32 games.

Duenez had 11 multi-hit games, including two games with 4 hits in the pre-season. He was especially on fire with the bat during a 13-game stretch from mid-February to mid-March, hitting 27 for 62 (.435 BA) with 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored. That included driving in 3 runs in the Eagles’ 13-6 win at Contra Costa in mid-February and going 4 for 5 with a double, triple, 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored in a 12-8 win at Shasta a week later. And when the Eagles opened their season with an 8-6 win at Yuba, Duenez and Giovanni Sanchez both contributed 3 hits and 2 RBIs each.

Playing mostly second base in the field, Duenez had 59 assists and 57 putouts.

Fisher, a middle infielder and pitcher from Henderson, NV, had the Eagles best slugging percentage (.447) of those on the team who had the minimum number of plate appearances to be ranked. In conference games, Fisher led the Eagles with a .342 batting average and .500 slugging percentage. He hit .301 overall with a .405 on-base percentage, 18 walks, 9 RBIs, 31 hits, and 17 runs scored in 32 games.

After a slow start that included just 3 hits in his first 22 at-bats (.136 BA), Fisher hit .345 from mid-February to the end of the season (28-for-81) and finished with 11 multi-hit games.

In his two years as an Eagle, Fisher played in 69 games and had a combined slash line of .290/.391/.403 with 35 runs batted in, 33 runs scored, 15 doubles, 5 triples, and 4 stolen bases. He started 6 games as a pitcher over two years and made 8 relief appearances. He finished with a .944 fielding percentage with 105 putouts and 149 assists on 269 total chances.

Fisher was the starting and winning pitcher in the Eagles’ 12-7 win at Redwoods in early April, while Skyler Doss threw three innings for the save, and Trey Bennett went 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs and scored 2 runs.

Bennett, an Etna High School graduate, was the ace of the Eagles’ pitching staff who also made significant contributions on offense as a sophomore. Hitting mostly in the games he didn’t pitch, Bennett had the Eagles’ top overall slugging percentage (.492) this season.

In two years as an Eagle pitcher, Bennett started 24 games, threw 137 innings, struck out 112 (7.36 per 9 innings), walked 74, and allowed 3 home runs. His innings pitched and strikeouts were about the same both years, but he walked 14 fewer and hit 3 fewer batters this season.

Bennett’s contribution to the offense grew significantly from last year, when he only had 1 hit in 13 at-bats. This year, he had a .271/.377/.492 slash line with 17 hits in 72 at-bats, 12 RBIs, 12 runs scored, 10 walks, 5 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs.

On the mound, Bennett had some tough-luck losses while finishing the season with a 1-9 overall win-loss record. That was 4 fewer wins and 4 more losses than he had as a freshman, even though his team-best ERA of 5.94 was slightly better than last year.

This spring, Bennett gave up just 3 earned runs in 7 innings of an 8-4 loss at Shasta in late February, and gave up 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 16-2 loss to Feather River in early March. The Eagles trailed 3-0 when he left that game, but then the eventual league champions scored 3 runs in the 7th and 10 in the 8th. Also, Bennett allowed only 2 runs and 7 hits while striking out 7 in 6 1/3 innings of a 2-0 loss at Shasta in late March, and he allowed just 2 earned runs and 6 hits in 8 innings of a 6-5 loss to Butte in early April.

Gates, a speedy switch-hitting centerfielder/catcher from Modesto, played 70 games in his two years as an Eagle with a combined slash line of .342/.414/.413. He scored 51 runs, stole 20 bases, had 14 doubles, a triple, a home run, and finished with a .982 fielding percentage, including 205 put-outs, 8 assists, and only 4 fielding errors in 217 total chances.

This year, Gates led the Eagles in hits both overall (45) and in conference games (28) and was far and away the leader in stolen bases (9 overall, 6 in conference). Nobody else had more than 3. He started the season fast, hitting 20 for 46 (.435) in his first 10 games. After cooling down mid-season, he finished with 17 hits in 43 at-bats the final 12 games (.395 BA). Gates led the 2025 team with 14 multi-hit games and 55 total bases in 160 plate appearances, including two 4-hit and two 3-hit games. He was second on the team with a .324 overall batting average.

Among the other everyday players, freshman Max Rossmeier, a first baseman from Puyallup, WA, played 32 games and was second on the team with 18 RBIs and 13 walks, third on the team with 31 hits, and finished with an overall slash line of .267/.358/.302. He had a .992 fielding percentage with 225 putouts, 9 assists and only 2 errors in 236 total chances.

Three other freshmen infielders contributed some highlights: Nakea Kahalehau from Wailuku, HI, had 21 hits, 11 RBIs, and 12 runs scored in 26 games; Davin Aea-Kubota from Hauula, HI, had 4 doubles and a home run in 19 games; and David Miramontes of San Diego had a slash line of .270/.357/.405 in 17 games, including a double and two triples.

Sophomore outfielder Matthew McCall from Sutter had nearly twice as many at-bats this year as last and finished with 20 hits, including 4 doubles and 2 triples in 27 games. He finished his career with 66 putouts and a .971 fielding percentage.

Catcher Zane Winter from Leilehua, HI, had 39 hits in 52 games during his two-year Eagle career with 19 RBIs, 24 walks, 17 runs scored, 8 doubles, and a .358 on-base percentage. He had 272 putouts from behind the plate, 40 assists, and a .969 fielding percentage.

Sophomore infielder Rylan Taylor from Vancouver, WA, drove in 11 runs, scored 10, and hit 4 doubles over the past two seasons while playing in 37 games; and sophomore infielder Giovanni Sanchez of Las Vegas scored 24 runs while playing 46 games in two seasons.

Sophomore outfielder Julius Guanio of Ewa Beach, HI, was one of only two Eagles to hit more than one home run this season; he smashed two in the 15 games he played. Then he finished his sophomore year strong, hitting 6 for 14 and scoring 4 runs in the Eagles’ final four games against Redwoods and Lassen.

For the pitching staff, freshman Lucas Day of Yreka, who started 10 games and won 2, showed his potential in a 2-0 win at Butte March 1st. He allowed just 7 hits in 8 innings that day, walked none and struck out 4.

Sophomore Branson Paulette of Layton, UT, an all-conference honorable mention pick his freshman year, started 7 games and pitched in relief 6 times his sophomore season. Over two seasons as an Eagle, he had 13 starts, threw 97 innings, and had 56 strikeouts.

Leading relief pitchers for the Eagles this season were sophomore Fernando Avalos of Sacramento, who made 13 appearances, sophomore Skyler Doss of Klamath Falls (12 appearances), freshman Micha Stover of Vacaville (11 appearances, 1 start), sophomore Nathan Baker of Klamath Falls (11 appearances), sophomore Alanson Reynolds of Las Vegas (6) and sophomore Hunter Reginato of Mount Shasta (5).

Baker finished his two-year career with 25 strikeouts in 50 innings; Avalos had 23 strikeouts in 45 innings; Doss had 18 strikeouts in 26 innings; and Stover had 14 strikeouts in 18 innings.

As a team, the Eagles won just 3 conference games and 5 overall, and they played Mendocino to a 5-5 tie in 12 innings. There were many tough losses along the way, like their final home game of the season on April 19: they led Redwoods 7-0 after 4 innings and 10-2 after 6 ½ innings before losing it, 11-10.

By Steve Gerace