Eagle baseball team opens season with 47 hits in first 4 games

An offensive outpouring highlighted the Eagle baseball team's first win of the season Jan. 28 against San Francisco.

Returning sophomore rightfielder Nakea Kahalehau had 5 of Siskiyous' 19 hits and drove in 3 runs in a 17-7 victory, while freshman Maicah Cabral continued his scorching start at the plate with 3 hits and 3 runs batted in. The game was played at San Francisco State.

Cabral and several other freshmen on the Eagles' 2026 baseball roster had already shown promise during a season-opening three-game weekend series at Yuba College Jan. 23 and 24.

With nearly twice as many first-year players as returners, the Eagles rallied late to tie both Friday's game and the second game of Saturday's doubleheader but returned to Weed without a win. They didn't stay winless long and, with 47 hits and 13 stolen bases in their first 4 games, they look like a team that can make things happen.

"I like where we're at," head coach Tevin Cadola said before the opener at Yuba. "We're very young with just eight sophomores and four redshirt freshmen, but we're lucky that most of them are going to be impact guys. Our sophomore leadership culture is growing. The younger guys are getting up to game speed… We want to play as a collective unit and be tougher than our opponent. It's hard for us to out-talent other teams, but we want everybody to understand their role fully. Getting them to buy in is huge."

Cadola said the returning players "came back holding no baggage" from last year's 5-win season. "It's in the past, and I tip my cap to the guys. That can be hard to do after a season like that. I like our development and progress. If we continue on that path, we'll find a way to be successful: compete and give ourselves a chance to win every day."

Returning starters include AJ Duenez, an infielder from Lathrop who was 2nd Team All-Conference last year after leading the Eagles with a .342 batting average and .438 on-base percentage, numbers that were both top 15 in the Golden Valley Conference.

Left-handed hitter Max Rossmeier from Puyallup, WA, returns at first base, and Davin Aea-Kubota from Hauula, HI, in his third year with the program, is back at third base. Rossmeier was second on the team in RBIs last year and finished with a .358 on-base percentage and .992 fielding percentage.

Beau Killingsworth from Reno, NV, a utility infielder last year, went into the season as the starting shortstop; and Nakea Kahalehau from Wailuku, HI, is a returning outfielder who is starting in right.

Kahalehau went 5 for 6 in Wednesday's win, including a run-scoring single that broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the 5th inning and a two-run single in the 7th that upped the Eagles' lead to 8-5. Rossmeier was 2 for 3, scored 3 runs and got the run-scoring party started in San Francisco with a first-inning single. Aea-Kubota went 2 for 6 and scored twice, and Duenez had a double.

Two returning righthanded pitchers, Davin Almeida from Waialua, HI, and Micha Stover from Vacaville, both threw in the win. Stover started and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 3 innings, while Almeida gave up 1 run on 2 hits over the final 2 1/3 innings while striking out 2.

Also returning are infielder David Miramontes from San Diego and Colton Knight, a sophomore outfielder/designated hitter from Yreka who only got a couple at-bats last year but started this year with a two-run, 9th inning single that tied the opener at Yuba and sent the game into extra innings.

Redshirt freshman centerfielder Jacob Damore from Las Vegas had 2 hits, scored twice and drove in a run at San Francisco.

Three other redshirts on the roster are infielder Peyton Forester Coos Bay, OR, righthanded pitcher Mekhi Kennebrew from Lynnwood, WA, and lefthanded pitcher Jadin Connell from Wendell, ID.

Among the freshmen, Maicah Cabral from Castle Rock, CO, has been the team's hottest hitter early this season, including a perfect 4 for 4 in his first game with a 9th inning single that drove in the first of three runs as the Eagles rallied to force an extra inning. Listed on the roster as a catcher, Cabral also pitched at Yuba and was the designated hitter at San Francisco. He's 9 for 12 in four games with 5 RBIs.

Batting leadoff, freshman leftfielder Josh Berry from Junction City, OR, homered in the fourth inning of game one to tie the score at 1-1 and finished 2 for 5 in his first game as an Eagle. He was 3 for 6 and scored 4 runs at San Francisco.

Freshman catcher Nate Scharringhausen from Hillsboro, OR, had 2 hits in Saturday's second game at Yuba and doubled to drive in two runs and cap at 4-run first-inning rally against San Francisco.

Freshman righthanded starting pitcher Colin Karwick from Santa Cruz began his Eagle career by allowing just 1 run and 3 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in 5 innings of game one at Yuba. He faced 18 batters and left the game with the score tied 1-1.

The Eagles led the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Yuba 2-1 after one inning before things changed quickly for the worse on the way to a 22-8 defeat.

The Eagles did have 11 hits in that game, including doubles by AJ Duenez, Beau Killingsworth and Jacob Damore, 2 run-scoring singles and an RBI on a sacrifice fly by Max Rossmeier, and 2 RBIs by Damore.

The Eagles were 1 for 4 on stolen base attempts in the first two games, then stole 6 bases in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and swiped 6 more in San Francisco, 2 each by Josh Berry and Nakea Kahalehau.

As the starting pitcher in Saturday's second game, Maicah Cabral gave up just 1 run through the first five innings before getting touched for 4 runs in a 6-run sixth inning that gave Yuba a 7-5 lead.

It was 8-5 before the Eagles tied it in the top of the 8th on run-scoring singles by freshman infielder Jayden Arbogast of Eugene, OR, and a two-run error by Yuba's second baseman. Then Yuba scored the winning runs in the bottom of the 8th.

Three Eagles had multiple hits in Saturday's second game. Kahalehau was 3 for 5 and drove in a run, Arbogast was 2 for 4 and drove in 3, and Nate Scharringhausen was 2 for 4, walked, and scored twice, while Josh Berry singled, walked twice, stole two bases and scored 4 times.

Freshman righthanded pitcher Klayton Rizzardo of Yreka was the starting pitcher in Saturday's first game at Yuba.

Other freshmen on the roster are infielders Josiah Fulton from Castle Rock, CO, Trey Quezada from Vacaville, and Jayden Arbogast from Eugene, OR; outfielders Owen Abrams from Edmond, OK, and Josh Giuliacci from Tracy; utility player Dalla Martinez from Las Vegas; catchers Ismael Hinajosa from Buckeye, AZ, and Kiapo Albeso-Notebo from Waialua, HI; and righthanded pitchers Wyatt Gagnon from Soldotna, AK, Gabe Gregg from Yreka, Gunnar Tinari from Castle Rock, CO, and Andrew Padilla from Las Vegas.

Three returning assistant coaches helping Cadola are Nick Thielman, James Frisbie and Steve Neel.

San Francisco was a new opponent on the Eagles' schedule this year, as is Napa Valley, where the Eagles are scheduled to play this weekend.

They're making the long trip to Taft for three games for the second year in a row Feb. 6 and 7. Cadola sees that as "a good bonding trip and a chance to play in the sunshine."

The Eagle baseball team's inevitable battles with the weather were somewhat less severe than usual in the lead-up to their 2026 season-opener, but it was cold baseball weather in

January. A line of frozen snow still lingered along the curb in front of the school's Tom Powers Court two nights earlier when the basketball teams competed against Butte.

The first home games, a Golden Valley Conference doubleheader against Shasta, are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21. Cadola said the school wants to develop its "home-game culture" by being more accommodating for fans, featuring BBQs and more opportunities for purchasing food and merchandise.

By Steve Gerace