In its first season, the East-County-based Hurricane squad competed in the 11U division against several established area teams. Despite the fact that the Hurricanes had a lot of catching up do, the new "upstarts" posted a 10-2-1 record against their veteran East County counterparts. In addition, the Hurricanes posted a 5-1 record against other NorCal teams ranked in their division and competed well against upper-division teams in open tournament play.
The highlight of the Hurricanes' season occurred July 1-3, when the team won five straight games to capture its first tournament.
All of the Hurricane players - who hail from Oakley, Antioch and Brentwood - contributed to the team's success this year. Connor Vis made several outstanding plays in the outfield, hit well and reached base often to pace the offense. Johnny Hemenes played a solid first base. He also pitched, played catcher on occasion and sparked the Hurricane offense with clutch hits.
Anthony Davis played third base, pitched and notched several RBI hits, including many for extra bases. Zach Finley handled most of the catching duties, pitched and smacked line drives on a consistent basis. Dylan Casey played shortstop, pitched and drilled several clutch hits to drive in runs that contributed to victories. Johnny Briseno played infield and outfield positions, caught and regularly got on base to score runs.
Justin Cash played second base, third base and outfield. He also pitched and got on base with regularity. Kody Shanks developed into a big hitter with the club, belting extra-base hits to key several victories and playing stellar defense on the infield. Brian Wargo was a star player in the Hurricanes July 1-3 tournament victory, belting two home runs and pitching the team to two victories - in addition to playing the outfield.
Jesse Padilla played second base and got on base to set the plate for the big hitters. Tyler Deven was a sparkplug for the team, playing centerfield with reckless abandon, making diving catches, getting on base, stealing bases and scoring runs. Finally, Brock McElvain was an all-around player, smashing line drives consistently, playing all outfield positions, first base and pitching.
The coaching staff, led by Manager Craig Finley and coaches John Hemenes, Joe Briseno and Mark Casey, worked to teach the fundamentals of baseball and help the team earn its No. 6 ranking.
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