Ripon’s Mayer wins MVP of Trans-Valley League; Petker is top pitcher

The Ripon High baseball team has been rewarded for one of the best seasons in program history.

The Indians won 20 games for the first time in 15 years and went undefeated in the Trans-Valley League, amassing a 12-0 mark under Coach of the Year Jon Manrique.

Ripon was the seasonlong No. 1 team in The Bee’s small-school rankings, largely because of its starting rotation. The Indians featured two of the section’s best juniors in Jack Mayer and Luke Petker.

Mayer led the section in wins with 11 and was named the TVL’s Most Valuable Player. The 5-foot-10, 145-pounder completed six games, struck out 98 batters in 77.1 innings, and boasted a 2.08 ERA.

Mayer was 6-0 in league play with three shutouts and a no-hitter against Riverbank on May 3.

His only losses were to large-school teams Manteca and Central Catholic of the Valley Oak League. Manteca recently won its second section final in the past three years.

Mayer also hit .356.

Petker was the Pitcher of the Year after tying for the section lead in complete games with eight. He shared that perch with East Union’s Marco Gonzales, the Valley Oak League MVP.

Petker was 8-3 with a 2.84 ERA and two shutouts. He fanned 77 batters in 74 innings and boasted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 4-to-1 for the Indians, who finished 24-5 and reached the semifinal round of the Division V sectional tournament.

The overall record was the program’s best since the 2001 season, when the Indians were 24-4-1 and league champions.

Hilmar senior Jarrod Willis was named the TVL’s Most Valuable Offensive Player. Willis led the league in on-base percentage (.582) and ranked second in hitting with a .486 average.

Escalon catcher Parker Cosby was the best defensive player as voted on by the coaches. The sophomore had just four errors in 203 chances and picked off a section-best 22 runners.

All-TVL first team honors went to: Fabian Verdin, Riverbank; Cody Brockman, Modesto Christian; Jaylon McClendon, Modesto Christian; Alex Chavez, Hilmar; Tyler Amarante, Hilmar; Preston Costa, Hilmar; Colton Dutey, Hilmar; Nick Price; Ripon; Sammy Souza, Ripon; Angelo Baciocco, Ripon; Matthew DeDonatis, Ripon; Walter Fountain, Hughson; Grant Williams, Hughson; Trent Bayes, Hughson; Jackson Bennett, Escalon; Alec Beltran, Escalon; Robby Rickman, Escalon; Julian Sainz, Mountain House; and Josh Grande, Mountain House.

Earning honorable mention was: Nick Aguilera, Mountain House; Jacob Vales, Mountain House; Hunter Perugi, Mountain House; Trace Thomas, Hughson; Wyat Kee, Hughson; Garcia Marquez, Modesto Christian; Travis Waara, Ripon; Donny Cooksey, Ripon; Wyatt Amaral, Hilmar; Noah Batista, Hilmar; Carlos Villapudua, Riverbank; Justice Naraghi, Escalon; Dylan Azevedo, Escalon; JoJo Dutra, Escalon; and Zach Abraham, Escalon.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Ripon’s Mayer wins MVP of Trans-Valley League; Petker is top pitcher."