REDDING, Calif. - The Red Hawks baseball squad earned a split in its final home series today as they were crowned the 2025 Cal Pac Baseball champions for the first time in program history.
The Red Hawks plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as the first three batters reached as
Dylan Leek and
Mario Catalan worked back-to-back walks followed by a single by
Jaxon Hotta to load the bases.
A sacrifice fly by
Cayden Lee gave Simpson the early lead before the La Sierra starter escaped the jam and claimed the 3-1 lead in the following inning as they plated three runs on two hits and one error.
Simpson answered back in the bottom half of the inning as they put up a six spot to reclaim the 7-3 lead.
Leek, Tolbert, and Lee found the power stroke as Leek notched a two-run blast and Tolbert a three-run bomb while Lee crushed an RBI ground rule double.
Starter,
Hyunwoo Kim seemed to be in cruise control until the Golden Eagles put up a crooked number in the top of the fifth inning to take the 8-7 lead as they got into the Red Hawks bullpen.
La Sierra clung to a one-run lead until they put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth inning as they scored four more runs to take the 12-7 lead on a three-run blast.
In between games, the Red Hawks honored its 14 seniors and long-time Red Hawks hitting coach
Paul Barrington.
Coach Barrington has been with the Simpson baseball program for 15 years as he specializes as one of the team's main hitting coaches. The 2025 season is going to be the final season for Coach Barrington as he has been a mainstay for the baseball program over the years.
The 14 seniors included;
Jaxon Hotta,
Keelan Yagi,
Dominic Folks,
Chase Rossman,
Alex Tolbert,
Andreyes Palacios,
Geremy McCollough,
Jaydon Tomas,
Cole McMahon,
Cuinn Doherty,
Brandon Zanni,
Dylan Leek,
Brady Glenn and
Logan Boenker.
Simpson drew first blood in game two as
Chase Rossman roped a huge two-out two-run double into right field.
The Red Hawks offense fired on all cylinders as they scored in five out of the six innings to take the commanding 10-2 lead.
They scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning on RBI hits by
Brayden Swenson and Doherty as they capitalized on a couple of La Sierra miscues.
Tafolla had the big swing in the bottom of the fifth inning as he launched a solo shot to left field.
The senior duo of
Jaydon Tomas and
Cole McMahon quieted the Golden Eagles bats as Tomas turned in his finest start of the year as he fired 5.0 innings of two-run ball while allowing just one earned run as he picked up the win.
McMahon came in relief and tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless ball as he allowed just one La Sierra base runner to close out the 10-2 season finale.
Palacios, Rossman, and Catalan led the Simpson bats with two-hit performances.
Following the game, Simpson's Athletic Director,
Rob Harley presented the 2025 baseball squad its first-ever Cal Pac banner as they earned the 2025 league title under Head Coach
Dan Tating.
Looking forward, the Red Hawks look to compete in the Northstar Conference Championships next week in North Dakota.
