Hughson offense leads the way as Huskies secure second straight TVL title
When Hughson’s offense gets rolling, the Huskies are almost impossible to beat.
The bats get hot, the confidence grows, the cheers and celebrations ring out from the dugout, and before you know it, they’ve put six runs on the board.
That’s how it happened Thursday against Hilmar in the game that ultimately decided the Trans-Valley League champion. The Yellowjackets scored first, putting runs on the board in the top of the first and second innings, but when Hughson’s attack came alive, there was no stopping it.
The Huskies tallied 12 total hits. They scored two runs in the second, third and fourth innings and then added two more insurance runs in the sixth to take an 8-4 home win and claim the 2025 TVL title.
“There were such high expectations for the kids,” Hughson head coach Charly Garza said. “There’s a lot of four-year varsity guys and they had to hear all year about how they’re gonna win. They’ve had to deal with all that and I’m proud of them because they stayed focused the whole time.”
Thursday’s game served as a great bounce-back effort after the Huskies fell to the Yellowjackets just 24 hours prior. Hilmar made Thursday’s matchup, Hughson’s final TVL game, a must-win. If they suffered a second straight loss, they would have had to rely on Hilmar to lose another league game to claim an outright title.
“I talked to my assistant coaches last night and I said if we didn’t have high-character kids, I’d be worried after yesterday,” Garza said. “The kids could have said, ‘Oh, we lost, it’s all over, we aren’t gonna go undefeated.’ It was just a little test to see how that could make us better and make us concentrate more.”
The title was Hughson’s second straight, and the third in the past four seasons. The Huskies shared a co-title with Livingston and Hilmar in 2022 and won the league outright in 2024 and 2025.
Bryce McDaniel went the full seven innings, striking out seven batters and throwing an efficient 81 pitches. Offensively, he went 3-for-3 and drew a walk.
“My mindset coming into each game I pitch is just to throw strikes because I’ve got my defense behind me,” McDaniel said. “They’re going to make a play so I’m always calm on the mound.”
The Yellowjackets’ offense got started early, loading the bases in the top of the first inning after three of the first four batters singled. With one out, Jacob Sward sent a fly ball to center field, driving in Kayleb Amaya for the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly. John Labno put the Yellowjackets up 2-0 in the second with an RBI single.
Hughson answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. McDaniel singled, reached third and scored on a balk. Benji Ocegueda doubled and was later driven in by Lawson Aviles. They added two more runs in the next half inning and in the fourth, a Beau Blake double drove in the fifth and sixth unanswered Huskies runs of the game.
Labno made it a two-point game, smashing a home run to straightaway centerfield in the top of the fifth inning, but Blake answered in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run of his own down the right field line. Blake finished with a game-high four RBI and Aviles and Max Mankins added one apiece.
In addition to McDaniel’s three hits, Blake, Andrew Fisher and Ocegueda added two apiece and three other Huskies added a hit.
“We don’t press a lot,” Garza said of Hughson’s offense. “If you look at some of our scores, we’ll go zero, one, zero, then nine. It’s just a matter of time and it’s contagious. It’s not a lot of home-run swings, it’s more like base hits.”
The Huskies have already put together their fourth straight 20-win season and, after checking a league title off their list, can set their sights onto the postseason.
First, they have a series of tests that Garza feels will prepare them for a deep push: They travel to Santa Cruz for what has become a yearly matchup with Soquel, the No. 6 team in the Central Coast Section and 81st team in California.
When they return, they will play in the competitive tournament at Oakdale High, which filled their TVL bye week in the final week of their regular season. They play their final postseason tune-up against Tokay, which is 10-0 in the San Joaquin Athletic Association.
Baseball
Ripon Christian 17, Orestimba 4: Max Anderson doubled twice and drove in six runs to lead Ripon Christian past Orestimba, securing the series sweep and the Knights’ fourth TVL win in a row. The Knights used a nine-run second inning to break the game open and added insurance runs in the third and fourth.
Oakdale 8, East Union 4: Griffin Costa hit a home run, Eric Velazquez drove in a game-high three runs and Oakdale completed the three-game sweep of the Lancers on Thursday afternoon. Jordan Haver pitched five innings, striking out six, and Ayden Ardis pitched two innings.
Turlock 4, Pitman 0: Josh Ramirez and Jaron Rocha each hit home runs as Turlock completed the series sweep of crosstown rival Pitman on Thursday at home. Cameron Henard and Rocha led the team with two hits apiece. The Bulldogs remain in the CCAL’s top spot with a series against second-place Downey coming up in the last week of the regular season.
Central Valley 9, Ceres 1: Central Valley beat crosstown rival Ceres to remain perfect in WAC play and position itself to claim its first league title. Ezequiel Verduzco tripled and was one of five Hawks with two hits and one of four Hawks to finish with two RBI. Central Valley finishes the regular season competing in the Oakdale tournament and playing a WAC series against Davis.
Beyer 4, Lathrop 3: After winning in eight innings Tuesday, Beyer completed the series sweep Thursday to remain the WAC’s third-place team. The Patriots won both games in the tightly contested series by a combined two points.
Davis 7, Johansen 4: Davis scored consistently through the first five innings, opening up a 7-0 advantage after the top of the fifth inning. Johansen scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth but could not chip into Davis’ lead any more. Three Spartans doubled and Reashad Marshall drove in a team-high three runs.
Enochs 6, Modesto 1: Enochs completed the series sweep over Modesto on Thursday after four players doubled and four players tripled. Sophomore Bryan Delgado was the only Eagle to record a double, a triple and an RBI. He finished with a team-high three total hits. Tanner McCain got the start and earned the win, going six innings and striking out 10 batters.
Central Catholic 13, Mountain House 0: Central Catholic continued to roll in VOL play, picking up its eighth league win in nine games. AJ Miligi and Hudson Walker each went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a double. The Raiders have swept Patterson and Mountain House in two of their last three series.
Patterson 3, Sierra 2 (12): Patterson won a 12-inning thriller on the road against Sierra in VOL play Thursday to complete the series sweep. After the two sides finished tied at 1-1 after seven innings, Noah Cozart led off the 10th with a double and Guy Allard drove him in with the Tigers’ second double of the inning. Sierra answered in the bottom of the 10th. Patterson loaded the bases in the top of the 12th and scored the game-winning run when Andrew Garcia was hit by a pitch.
Gustine 11, Modesto Christian 0: Two Crusaders doubled but Modesto Christian was shut out by Gustine. The Crusaders have been shut out in their last three league games.
Softball
Turlock 18, Modesto 0: In one of two Thursday games, Turlock ended its two-game losing streak with a five-inning win over Modesto High. Two of Cadee Campbell’s three hits were home runs and the senior finished with four RBI. Freshman Audrey Bailey had three hits and three RBI and pitched the full five innings with 10 strikeouts.
Gregori 17, Pitman 6: Four Jaguars doubled and two others tripled as part of a 20-hit effort Thursday in a win. Angela Stoner and Audrey Pacheco drove in a team-high four runs and finished tied with NeVaeh Scheper for a team high in hits, recording three. Five others finished with two hits.
Enochs 15, Downey 1: Four Eagles doubled, three finished with extra base hits and nine scored at least one run as Enochs extended its lead atop the CCAL standings. Soraya Mendoza pitched the full game, striking out six.
Gregori 11, Pitman 0: Allyson Conway pitched a two-hit shutout in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out four batters in five innings of work. Angelina Hoffman and Angela Stoner each hit home runs and Kaliyah Mauia went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.
Orestimba 14, Escalon 8: Orestimba’s Hailey Starr led the charge, recording a home run, a double and driving in three runs. Starr and Sam Mendoza each struck out six batters in the circle. Madison Babasa walked three times and scored two runs and Jayci Trimble hit a double and a triple, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice for the Cougars.
Ripon 18, Hilmar 2: Angelina Martinez hit a home run and had four RBI and Mikayla Dietrich hit a home run with three RBI to lead Ripon to its seventh TVL win. Addison Naranjo hit a triple and Izabelle Spurzem hit a pair of doubles.
Linden 8, Big Valley Christian 6: Morgan Merzon tripled and Madyx Mitchell had a double with three RBI, but the Lions’ comeback fell just short in a MLL game against first-place Linden.
Central Catholic 15, East Union 4: Central Catholic outhit East Union 21-9 in one game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Ceriah Fitzhugh and Jazmarie Roberts led the way with four hits apiece, while Samantha Nichols, Madie Harrison and Taryn Calderon added three apiece. Amaya Gustavis hit a home run and had four RBI, while Nichols and Harrison added three RBI. Three other Raiders also drove in runs.
Mountain House 5, Oakdale 1: Madi Bohannon hit a home run in the top of the first inning, producing the Mustangs’ only run against Mountain House, the VOL’s third-place team.
Turlock 19, Modesto 0: In the second game of the Thursday doubleheader, Abby Maxwell homered twice and drove in six runs. Three players finished with three hits and four Bulldogs finished with two. Karley Wool had the team’s only two doubles. Cadee Campbell and Madelyn Robison combined for a seven-strikeout no-hitter.
Central Catholic 11, East Union 4: A seven-run first inning powered the Raiders to their 10th straight VOL win this season, keeping them unbeaten in league play. Four players doubled and Amaya Gustavis and Carsyn Lomeli drove in a team-high three runs apiece.
