Welcome to week two of “In The Dugout” where the three of us will talk about the outcome and give you an in-game view of Hughson Husky Varsity Baseball. Today we will be talking about our first game of the 2025 season against the Calaveras Red Hawks.

Bryce McDaniel- Our first preseason game of the year started off strong with a 10-0 win. The game started off strong with Benji on the bump striking out the side so we could get out at bats. We rallied together and put up 4 runs in the first inning with multiple players having extra base hits and one 2 run homerun from Lawson. As the game went on the pitching stayed hot as Benji finished the game 7 k’s in only 3 innings and Gavin Gomez came in close for the last 2 innings throwing 1 k. Our bats stayed hot the whole game making it hard for the RedHawks to stay in the game with us. For me at the plate my plan for the game was to look for the fastball early in the count. In my first at bat I succeeded with my plan, I was just early. During my last 2 at bats I fouled off the fastball early in the count so I had to start thinking about the offspeed which I kept fouling off, in those at bats I ended up putting 2 balls in play for solid contact they just were right to people. I feel like the whole team was enjoying playing the first game of the year and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the games this week go against Summerville and Manteca.

Gavin Gomez- This was definitely a great way to start the season, the bats were popping hit after hit really beating the Red Hawks in every aspect of the game. But a good offense is nothing without a good defense and we really showed how important it is to have a good one. Beau Blake was locked in at short stop making every play that was hit at him, and as one of the pitchers that threw this game I can say that I really appreciated it. We had no errors in 5 innings and held the Red Hawks to no runs and only 1 hit! I came into the game in the 4th innings ready to finish what the starter Benji Ocegueda started. I came out hot only throwing 15 pitches and 3 grounders for out. The next inning I came in ready to not only shut them out but to also get some strikeouts under my belt and that is exactly what I did. I got a quick 2 outs and was determined to work the last batter and get the K I was looking for. I started him off with a curveball for a strike trying to really mess up his timing. Then I went right after him and struck him out with 2 fastballs, And that was it for the rest of the game because right after we mercy ruled them 10-0.

Landon Petersen- My role for the day was to track the quality at bats of our players and keep the dugout alive. The most complete teams have a great atmosphere inside the dugout even if you’re not the one in the game that day. It’s easy to lose focus when you’re playing a non competitive team but we all stayed on track and got the job done by mercy rule in only five innings by a score of ten to zero. We practiced chants and celebrations for the rest of the season and there were plenty of opportunities to do so with double digit hits and runs on the day. In order to bring home the section banner it’s going to take more than just the nine on the field so it’s important to keep everyone in check and try to be a leader in the dugout and on the field. With two more games this week it’s crucial to become the best team we can in our upcoming practices and pregame warmups.