SALINAS VALLEY — King City High baseball team closed out the regular season with a huge week of games against South Monterey County rival Gonzales Spartans.
The Mustangs defeated the Spartans, 8-1, last Tuesday at home before rallying for a wild 23-14 comeback victory two days later to clinch a share of the Cypress Division Championship — the program’s first league title since 2010, finishing with a 15-6 record.
King City opened the week with a complete team performance behind Joaquin Sabala, who pitched six scoreless innings to earn the win Tuesday. Anthony Manriquez came in to finish the game in relief.
Jacoby Chavez led the offense with a three-hit game, while Pablo Aguirre drove in three runs and Logan Ibarra added two hits. Chavez also made program history in the game by breaking King City’s single season stolen base record of 37 that had stood since 1999. Chavez finished the season with 42 stolen bases.
The Mustangs stayed aggressive on the bases with 10 stolen bases in the game and continued to apply pressure offensively throughout the night.
Gonzales (5-9 overall record) were led by Noah Villalobos, who went 2 x 4 with a triple, along with Dominick Rosas-Rosillo and Isaac Soto, who both went 2 x 3.
In Thursday’s finale at Gonzales, the Spartans erased an early deficit and took a 14-12 lead in the sixth inning. The Mustangs responded with an explosive 11-run seventh inning to pull away for the 23-14 victory.
King City’s Axel Chavez drove in four runs, Joaquin Sabala delivered a clutch three-run triple and finished with five runs batted in, and Dylan Conaster reached base multiple times to help spark the offense. Joey Pina struck out five in his start, while Pablo Aguirre earned the win in relief.
The Mustangs also showed patience at the plate with 14 walks and stayed aggressive on the bases with 11 stolen bases.
Villalobos went 2 x 3 with two walks and four RBIs for Gonzales. Moises Castro was 4 x 5 with a double and five RBIs, and Rosas-Rosillo went 2 x 4.
King City finished league play as co-champions of the Cypress Division with North Salinas, capping off a memorable turnaround season built on defense, speed and resilience.
“This group just kept believing in each other all year,” said Mustangs head coach Gabriel Soto. “No matter the situation, these guys continued to compete and fight for one another. To see them battle back the way they did in that last game and earn a share of the league title means a lot to our program, our school and our community. I’m really proud of what these players accomplished together. We also couldn’t have done this without our coaching staff, Jake Stephens, Frank Parra and Angel Aguirre, and all the hard work they put in for these players every day.”
