The 2024 high school baseball season has been one for the books.
Heading into the final day of the regular season, there have been eight reported no-hitters — and probably more that haven’t been reported.
Because of 4 p.m. start times, darkness has forced a record 27 ties, with Point Loma being involved in four.
“I think I have as many ties as our soccer team,” said Pointers coach Rigo Ledezma. (For the record, the Pointers’ boys soccer team had five).
Because of a change in the number of games teams are allowed to play, most of the top tournaments in the county went without champions.
There are 54 players with more than 20 RBIs, one player with 40 stolen bases, 22 pitchers with ERAs under 1.00 and one pitcher with 100 strikeouts.
And on the coaching front, it has been a season of milestones.
Mike Mitchell of Christian and Justin Machado of La Costa Canyon topped the career 600-win mark.
James Davis of Granite Hills and Gary Remiker of Cathedral Catholic both went over 500.
Jim Westlund of Chula Vista and David Gallegos of Eastlake topped 400.
La Jolla’s Gary Frank and Craig da Luz of St. Augustine went over 300.
Will Mercado of San Diego, Lance Roenicke of Santa Fe Christian and Dallas Booker of Morse all hit 100.
Remiker’s milestone win came April 19 in an 11-4 win over Patrick Henry. Winning pitcher Owen Smyth, a junior left-hander for the Dons, caled it “a thrill.”
“I love the guy. He’s great,” Smyth said. “This team will fight for him. It’s a privilege to play for a legendary coach.”
All of Remiker’s wins have been in a Dons uniform, starting 24 years ago when the school was located in Linda Vista and known as USDHS.
“We’re playing on one of the best teams in the county for a coach with 500 wins,” said Cathedral Catholic outfielder Joseph Anderson.
“There are a lot of great memories connected to this program.”
Mitchell topped the 600 mark on April 3 with a 6-1 win over University City.
He has spent 33 years as a head coach, four at Coronado and now 29 at Christian with 558 of the 600 wins coming as the Patriots head coach.
Two of his Christian players — pitcher Cody Poteet and outfielder Kyle Stowers — have reached the big leagues.
Machado, who has been at La Costa Canyon his entire career, got his 600th win Tuesday with a 5-4 win over San Marcos.
Two of his players, Phillip Evans and Mickey Moniak, who was the first pick of the 2016 MLB Draft , have played in the big leagues. Outfielder Spencer Jones is knocking on the door.
Gallegos’ 500th win was March 26 against South Jordan, Utah’s Bingham High School in the Lions Tournament. He spent some time at Sweetwater, but 383 of his now 413 wins have come at Eastlake.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have great players and even better coaches,” Gallegos said. “No coach at any level wins games without good players and coaches who are dedicated to the success of the program.”
Eastlake has produced three major league players — the Gonzalez brothers, Adrian and Edgar, and Casey Schmitt, who played for Gallegos.
The Titans had a string of great shortstops in Ben Ramirez, Keoni Cavaco and Marcelo Mayer. Mayer is one of the top prospects in the game.
Westlund, one of the most respected coaches in the game, hit the 400 mark on March 12 with a 5-0 win over Hoover.
He has spent all 34 years in coaching at Chula Vista and now has 411 career victories.
Da Luz topped 300 wins on April 26 with a win over Mitchell and Christian. It has taken him 16 years to get to 300 and he now sits at 303 wins.
Frank started the season with 287 wins and got his 300th on April 17 with a 2-0 win over Coronado.
He now has 303 wins.
Granite Hills has sent seven players to the big leagues with outfielder John Barnes and Travis Taijeron playing for Davis.
Davis, who pitched collegiately at San Diego State, hit the 500 mark on March 13 with a 2-0 win on the road against Remiker at Cathedral Catholic.
“You know what all these wins tell you?” said Davis, who is also the athletic director at Granite Hills. “We’ve all been around a while. That’s what.
“Seriously, we all have good facilities, try to teach and play the game the right way. We get good players and try to stay out of their way.”
