Oakdale’s three baseball teams were honored on Tuesday night, May 24. Honoring each of the teams were head coaches Nate Gregory, Chris Henry and Chris Jackson.

For the freshman team, coached by Jackson, Alex Daoud was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. Max Moore was named Best Offensive Player and Joshua Gerber was named Best Defensive Player. Capping off the freshman honorees was Joey Covello for Most Improved.

Coach Henry took center stage and gave out four awards for his junior varsity boys. Corey Hinojosa made an impression during his sophomore season as he took home the team’s Most Valuable Player award. Dylan Wright and Dillion Parker were named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Most Improved Player went to Brandon Castaneda.

Varsity team head coach Gregory handed out six awards to his players. Oakdale finished the regular season with a 20-8 overall record and a 10-4 Valley Oak League mark as the Mustangs finished in second place. Senior pitcher and utility player Austin Manning earned the Most Valuable Player award for the team. Manning led the league in batters struck out (87); finished third in wins (7) and was in the top five in earned run average (1.33). Best Offensive Player award went to senior outfielder Ben Solorio. He rapped out 32 hits in 24 games. His average was .372 with six runs batted in and he scored 24 runs. He tied for second in the league with 16 stolen bases. Junior and third year varsity catcher Bryce Kirk earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Kirk’s fielding percentage was .994 on the season, second in the Valley Oak League. At the plate, Kirk hit two home runs on the season. Junior catcher and first baseman Nick Moore earned the respect and notoriety of his peers and coaches and was named Most Improved. Moore played in 20 games this season hitting .239 with 11 runs batted in. The “Mr. Mustang” Larry Byrd Award went to senior pitcher Crue Freeman. Freeman started on the mound for the team’s senior night and earned the win. Rounding out the night was junior Sean Gingerich. The shortstop was named Team Captain of the Mustangs. Gingerich finished the season batting a league best .456 and was fifth in the league in runs batted in with 19.