‘He was a leader for us.’ Golden Valley junior named CCC Most Valuable Player
Koen Heupel was a spark plug for the Golden Valley High School baseball team.
The Cougars junior often turned singles and walks into doubles as he finished third in the state with 44 stolen bases.
After hitting .459 with 11 runs and stealing 14 bases in 12 Central California Conference games, Heupel was selected as the CCC Most Valuable Player by conference coaches.
“It means the world to me,” Heupel said. “Baseball is everything to me. The fact that I can go out there and show what I can do and get noticed by the other coaches is huge to me.”
For the entire season, Heupel hit .436 with 27 runs. He played shortstop on defense and hit at the top of the order to help lead the Cougars to a playoff appearance.
“Besides his numbers, he was a leader for us,” said Golden Valley coach Greg Euker. “He was positioning guys on defense before the coaches would. He had the numbers to back it up, but his leadership was seen by all the coaches.”
“I haven’t coached a player who knows the game as well as him ever,” Euker added.
El Capitan senior Mitchell Hunter was named Pitcher of the Year after compiling a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in 30 innings pitched in CCC play. The right-hander struck out 41 batters and only surrendered six unearned runs.
Hunter finished the entire season with a 7-0 record and a 0.37 ERA.
“Mitch really came out on fire for us this year,” said El Capitan coach Aaron Ruiz. “We knew we could count on him and Andrew Bakken as our two main guys and Mitch really stepped up being a senior and leading our team. The numbers speak for themselves. When Mitch was pitching we knew we could compete and possibly win the game.”
Patterson senior Payton Montecinos was named the Offensive Player of the Year after hitting .429 with 11 runs scored and six RBIs in 12 CCC games. Central Valley’s Ryan Estermann was named Utility Player of the Year after hitting .333 with 10 runs and seven RBIs in conference play.
El Capitan’s Aaron Ruiz and Patterson’s Harley Parson were named CCC Co-Coaches of the Year.
After winning the CCC championship, El Capitan landed six players on the all-CCC first team in pitcher Bakken, catcher Jesse Saucedo, first baseman Juan Munoz, second baseman Braylen Centeno, third baseman Camden Peterson and outfielder Jarrett Blake.
They were joined on the CCC first-team by Patterson pitcher Nate Lazano, Merced shortstop Riley Dickey, Buhach Colony outfielder Jaxson Percoats and Atwater outfielder Kevin Ross.
The second-team selections were pitcher Erik Munoz (Buhach Colony), catcher Fernando Dominguez (Central Valley), first baseman Garret Garcia (Central Valley), second baseman Brad McCleery (Patterson), shortstop Henry Warden (Atwater), utility Braden Giardina (El Capitan), outfielders Landon Laplante (Buhach Colony), Max Medina (Patterson) and Cade Ivy (Golden Valley).
The CCC Sportsmanship awards went to Atwater’s Jamin Munoz, Buhach Colony’s Spencer Lanz, Central Valley’s Diego Delahoya, El Capitan’s Kaden Duyette and Patterson’s Tony Lomeli.
This story was originally published May 24, 2023 at 5:46 PM.
