2018 Baseball Wrap up
Barstow, CA-
The 2018 Vikings Baseball campaign came to end last week. The Vikings finished the season with a 16-24 mark and a 5th place finish in conference.
16 wins marked the most in program history since 2013 when the Vikings complied a 21-14 record. 16 wins also marked the most wins the program has earned since Coach Bryan King took the reins in 2015.
On the season the Vikings complied a team .294 average including 412 hits, 79 doubles and 235 RBI. The team also fielded a much improved .954 from the previous season.
Several personal highlights marked the season for the Vikigns including 8 individuals being named to the All-Conference team:
1st Team
Judah Wilbur, Freshman-3B
|
AVG |
GP |
GS |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.394 |
40 |
37 |
160 |
41 |
63 |
16 |
3 |
2 |
31 |
91 |
.569 |
22 |
4 |
20 |
.476 |
Antonio Gaxiola, Freshman-1B
|
AVG |
GP |
GS |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.385 |
34 |
30 |
117 |
13 |
45 |
8 |
|
1 |
37 |
56 |
.479 |
18 |
3 |
22 |
.468 |
Lucky Martinez, Sophomore-CF
|
AVG |
GP |
GS |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.353 |
40 |
39 |
153 |
50 |
54 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
30 |
74 |
.484 |
19 |
14 |
37 |
.463 |
2nd Team
Jaime Solis, Sophomore-RF
|
AVG |
GP |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.299 |
26 |
25 |
97 |
17 |
29 |
6 |
1 |
|
15 |
37 |
.381 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
.393 |
Luis Ruiz, Sophomore-Utility
|
AVG |
GP |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.274 |
32 |
25 |
62 |
8 |
17 |
4 |
1 |
|
7 |
23 |
.371 |
4 |
4 |
18 |
.357 |
|
ERA |
W |
L |
APP |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
BB |
SO |
|
6.19 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
4 |
|
|
36.1 |
9 |
28 |
Jason Katz, Freshman-SP
|
ERA |
W |
L |
APP |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
BB |
SO |
|
5.61 |
5 |
8 |
17 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
85 |
27 |
45 |
Honorable Mention
Mitch Hulse, Sophomore-2B
|
AVG |
GP |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
TB |
SLG% |
BB |
HBP |
SO |
OBP% |
|
.295 |
26 |
24 |
95 |
25 |
28 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
42 |
.442 |
12 |
11 |
27 |
.429 |
Dayj Piersall, Freshman-RP
|
ERA |
W |
L |
APP |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
BB |
SO |
|
4.50 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
|
|
|
24 |
5 |
26 |
Gold Glove
Jaime Solis, Sophomore-RF
|
G |
TC |
PO |
A |
E |
FPCT% |
|
26 |
48 |
46 |
2 |
|
1.000 |
Season Highlights
January 27th- Vikings earned their first win of the campaign by besting eventual playoff team Taft by a score of 18-12. Starting Pitcher Chase Ottofy earned the win striking out 4 and allowing just 3 runs. The Vikings pounded out 15 hits on the day including 2 two doubles from Alfredo Lopez and a Home Run and 3 RBI from Judah Wilbur.
February 1st- The Viking overcame a 4-run deficit and scored 3 runs in the 8th and 9th inning to beat Imperial Valley on the road 7-6. Matt Vanderberg delivered the game winning hit in the top of the 9th to take the lead for good. Luis Ruiz pitched 7 strong innings before handing it over to the bullpen for two perfect innings of relief. Nathan Waterhouse threw a scoreless 8th and Jason Katz knotched his first collegiate save with a perfect 9th inning.
February 10th- The Vikings beat Compton for the first time in 4 years on the back of Chase Ottofy's near no-hitter. Ottofy took a no-hitter into the 8th inning surrended the first and only hit of the night with one out in the inning. Chase walked zero hitters on the night and struck out 13 in the Vikings 4-0 win on the road. Ottofy would go on to be named the Southern California Pitcher of the Week for his performance.
February 11th-The Vikings defeated visiting Napa Valley 9-8. Judah Wilbur hit his second home run of the year in the bottom of the 9th to secure the walk off win. Wlbur collected 3 hits on the day and drove in 2.
February 13th- The Vikings earned the sweep against Napa Valley with another walk-off win. This time the victory came from the bat of Alfredo Lopez who knocked in Jaime Solis with zero outs in the 9th inning. The half inning prior saw Napa tie the game up prior to Jaime Solis throwing out the potential go-ahead run at the plate from right field.
February 22nd-The Vikings earned their second sweep in a row defeating Porterville 12-4. Jason Katz threw 7 strong innings scattering just 8 hits. Tanner Wickham lead the offense with 4 RBI and Antonio Gaxiola drove in 3 more. The win marked the Vikings 6th win in a row.
March 15th-The Vikings beat #11 ranked Citrus College 6-5 on the road. Sean Hofmans and Noah Stenger combined to allow just 5 runs through 9 innings on the mound. Alfredo Lopez drove in 3 runs. The win was the second conference win in a row and evened the conference record at 2-2.
March 27th-The Vikings knocked off desert rival Cerro Coso by a score of 12-7. Trailing 7-6 going into the 8th the Vikings rallied for 6 runs to take a 12-7 lead. Lucky Martinez was 4 for 4 on the day including a dobule and 2 RBI. Antonio Gaxiola knocked in 3 runs.
April 7th- On the strength of 14 hits and a 3 for 4, 3 RBI day from Antonio Gaxiola the Vikings knocked off So Cal powerhouse and #5 ranked team Glendale 8-4. Chase Otofy and Dayj Piersall combined to allow just 4 runs while striking out 11.
April 10th-14th- The series between desert rivals did not dissapoint. All three games were decided by a single run. The Victorville rams rallied for 6 in the 9th to beat the Vikings 10-9 in Game 1. The second game saw the Vikings win 8-7 in 10 innings with a bases loaded hit by pitch from Matt Vanderberg. The final game of the series was a 12-11 slugfest featuring 19 Viking hits including 4 from Antonio Gaxiola.