What a way to start off the first league game. All the hard work and dedication from the practices and the non-league games lead up to this, and we showed everyone that the Hughson Huskies are the best team in the TVL. This was one of the best games the team played. The bats were hot, the pitching was outstanding and the energy in the dugout was as high as it’s ever been. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us because it’s gonna be a good one and hopefully it will lead to a far playoff run and maybe the first section championship in Hughson history.
On Tuesday we had our first league game of the season against the Ripon Indians. This game had more meaning to the preseason games because now that we are into the league these games will count against our record in the TVL. We started the game off strong with hot bats putting up 2 runs in the top of the first inning and then scoring another run in the top of the second to go up 3-0. In the bottom of the second we had 3 runs scored off of a call that didn’t go in our favor. In the top of the third we our bats stayed hot and we rallied together to get another 3 runs to go up 6-3 in the game. Throughout the rest of the game our defense worked hard behind the starting pitcher Max Mankins so he could throw the whole game with 8 strikeouts. We stayed strong with the bats as a team and made lots of adjustments in the game to come out of our first league game with a 9-3 victory.
League has officially started up for the TVL and we continue to live up to our strong reputation with 12 hits in the first game against Ripon High school. With the small bump in the road earlier this season, the last couple games have really proved that we are mentally strong and can take on any team on our schedule and dominate them. Max on the mound had 8 strikeouts and a complete game with 97 pitches while also coming up big at the plate with a couple runs batted in. Benji Ocegueda also showed bright spots in this one posting up a couple hits and hard contact to drive in a few. A mistake by the umpire cost us a few early but the team bounced back and jumped in front. After breaking the tie it was clear that we were running away with it. Especially with their starting pitcher out of the game in the 3rd inning, the constant pressure finally made them break and it was pretty much over by the 4th inning.
