The Van Nuys varsity baseball team has obtained the East Valley league championship title after a total of 34 years. The team clinched this title at their senior night on Wednesday, May 8, 2025 against the Monroe High School Vikings.
Last season, the Wolves played the Vikings two times where they lost both games. The first time was a tournament game on March 16 where they lost 10-8, the second in the quarterfinals of the Division II City Section playoffs on May 18 where they lost 8-0.
Ever since that season ending game against Monroe, the team has worked hard to get themselves to the point that they are at now. The league winning game started by the Vikings getting two runs in the first inning, but the Wolves didn’t let this get them down because when it was their turn up to bat, they scored three runs.
In the following inning, the Wolves scored three more runs, making the score 6-2 in just the second inning. They then continued to score one run in both the fourth and fifth inning. The Wolves then finished batting in the sixth inning with two more runs being scored making the end result 10-3.
Senior and catcher Nate Renard led the team in baserunning, with two stolen bases against the Vikings. Senior utility player Joel Enciso started on the mound and pitched four innings, ending with six hits, three strikeouts and 74 pitches. He was then taken out of this position to then play first base where he led the team in putouts, with seven in total. Senior first baseman Joaquin Boche then closed out the game on the mound with three innings pitched, zero hits and four strikeouts.
“It felt good being able to close out the game on senior night,” Boche said. “The atmosphere was the best it’s been all year and it felt like a playoff game. We didn’t swoop down to the level the opposing team was playing at and that ultimately secured the W (win).”
Even though the team was able to secure this victory and have the title, their job is not over yet because they still have their main objective coming up, playoffs.
“With playoffs next week I feel like we are where we are meant to be,” Boche said.
The advantages of being number one in the league is that they are able to skip the first round of playoffs, which gives the team a chance to rest.
The seeding list for the Division II playoffs came out this past weekend and the team secured number three out of 20 schools. The team will be playing their first round of playoffs on Thursday May 15, against either Harbor Teacher Prep Academy who is the 14 seed or Stella High Charter Academy who is the 19 seed. Harbor Teachers current overall record is 11-7 whereas Stella High’s record is 9-3.
“No matter who wins the game to determine who we will play, I think that as long as we hit the ball, we are good,” Boche added. “Our pitching is too elite to fall down and roll over.”
Although the Wolves are high up in the seeding list, they are unhappy with that number three spot. The school with the number one spot is Maywood Academy High School who is number one in the Southern Section League and have a 9-1 league record.
“I feel disrespected,” Boche concluded. “That’s all straight up disrespectful but they’ll see who really is the number one seed on the 23 of this month.
The first day of Division II playoffs begins on Tuesday, May 13 and will conclude on May 23 with the championship game being played at Glendale College. Make sure to come out and support your Wolves as they enter the playoffs for the next two weeks.
