With an overall record of 16-13, the 2016 Escalon varsity Cougars baseball team went 9-3 in Trans-Valley League play, good for second place, and was a Sac-Joaquin Section semifinalist.
Leading hitter overall was Robby Rickman, who batted .420 and he also compiled a Trans-Valley League best .514 batting average. Rickman also had the most hits (37) and most triples (2) on the offensive side of the ball.
Head coach Greg Largent listed the various team honors at the recent EHS spring sports awards night, with the Cougars displaying plenty of power and several players picking up league recognition as well as team awards.
Most runs batted in came from Alec Beltran (30) and he also had the most extra base hits (13), most doubles (10) and most home runs (3) for the team.
Defensively, Rickman led the team in innings pitched (86.1), wins (9), earned run average (1.70) and shared the number of appearances honor with fellow senior pitcher Jackson Bennett, both with 15. Sophomore catcher Parker Cosby was the team leader in fielding with a .980 percentage.
Team awards went to:
Most Improved Player – Jackson Bennett, JoJo Dutra; Coach’s Awards – Scyler Beltran, Zach Abraham; George Williamson Award – Dustin Lawrence; Chris Martinez Inspirational Player Award – Jackson Bennett, Jacob Alvarado; Gold Glove – Parker Cosby; TVL Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year – Parker Cosby; First Team All-League – Jackson Bennett, Alec Beltran, Robby Rickman, Parker Cosby; TVL Honorable Mention – Justice Naraghi, Dylan Azevedo, JoJo Dutra, Zach Abraham; San Joaquin County All Stars – Jackson Bennett, Robby Rickman and Most Valuable Player – Robby Rickman.