{"id":79814,"date":"2025-06-04T23:12:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T23:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/79814\/"},"modified":"2025-06-04T23:12:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T23:12:37","slug":"chicos-historic-season-ends-against-acalanes-in-norcal-baseball-playoffs-chico-enterprise-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/79814\/","title":{"rendered":"Chico\u2019s historic season ends against Acalanes in NorCal baseball playoffs \u2013 Chico Enterprise-Record"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CHICO \u2013 The Chico High baseball team experienced the joy of winning a Northern Section title, various come-from-behind victories and\u00a0 wins over their crosstown rival, and rolled an 11-game win streak into the CIF NorCal Playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>But, while the heat relentlessly beat down on Skip McDonald Field on Tuesday afternoon, the magic that\u2019s been powering the Panthers all year evaporated as No. 2-seeded Chico fell 9-3 to No. 6 seed Acalanes of Lafayette. Chico\u2019s loss, its first defeat since April 14, dealt the Panthers an early exit from the CIF NorCal Division II playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first group that I\u2019ve had for two years so you get to know them more and figure out what makes them tick and how they grind on the baseball field,\u201d said Chico head coach Brian Thomas. \u201cThis season was really special because you get to know them so much. It makes it so much harder when you have to say goodbye to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Panthers threatened to score in the first inning when Jaden Neugebauer and Jaxxon Tweedt both reached on infield singles. But Dons starting pitcher Branson Smith pulled off two pickoff plays to clear the bases and end the inning.<\/p>\n<p>Panthers starting pitcher Carter Miles was lights out from the start. He struck out eight Dons, four of them looking, through four innings.<\/p>\n<p>Acalanes scored first when Ando Butner reached on a two-out base hit then scored on an RBI double from James Stadt. Miles got out of the inning when he got No. 3 hitter Keegan Goddard to strike out swinging on a ball in the dirt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was definitely a little amped up,\u201d Miles said. \u201cEven if I make a bad pitch, even if a walk happens, my defense, my catcher Ryan (Heym) is just going to throw someone out. It\u2019s just really easy to pitch with a good catcher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the fifth inning spelled trouble for the Panthers. Acalanes No. 9 hitter Dom Patitucci drew a leadoff walk. Next up, Butner took advantage of a hanging slider and sent it over the left centerfield wall for a two-run home run.<\/p>\n<p>Senior Jaden Neugebauer took the mound in relief of Miles, but Acalanes continued to do damage.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of hit batsmen, a two-run double and a sacrifice fly resulted in an eight-run inning for Alcalanes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kid put a good swing on it,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAnd when he hit that home run, things kind of fell back a little bit. Guys were on their heels, and it took us a while to overcome the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Chico High shortstop Jaden Neugebauer fields the ball and throws...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Chico High shortstop Jaden Neugebauer fields the ball and throws to first base for the out during the CIF NorCal Division II playoff game against Acalanes on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chico catcher Ryan Heym, left, consoles starting pitcher Carter Miles,...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CHICO-04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chico catcher Ryan Heym, left, consoles starting pitcher Carter Miles, right, on the mound during the CIF NorCal Division II baseball playoff game against Acalanes on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chico High\u2019s Jaden Neugebauer, right, dives for second base but...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CHICO-05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chico High\u2019s Jaden Neugebauer, right, dives for second base but is tagged out by Acalanes\u2019 Tyler Winkles, left, in the final inning of the CIF NorCal Division II playoffs on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chico High senior Luke Henderson, right, hugs Panthers' head coach...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CHICO-02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chico High senior Luke Henderson, right, hugs Panthers&#8217; head coach Brian Thomas, left, after Chico lost 9-3 to Acalanes in the CIF NorCal Division II playoffs on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chico High's Jorden Neugebauer hits a two-run single in the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CHICO-03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chico High&#8217;s Jorden Neugebauer hits a two-run single in the fifth inning during the CIF NorCal Division II playoff game against Acalanes on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 5<\/p>\n<p>Chico High shortstop Jaden Neugebauer fields the ball and throws to first base for the out during the CIF NorCal Division II playoff game against Acalanes on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Skip McDonald Field in Chico, California. (Ben Mota\/All Axis Sports)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chico answered in the bottom half of the fifth with two runs. Heym led off with a high bouncing ball up the middle for a base hit. Then Jaden Neugebauer reached on an error. That set up Jorden Neugebauer\u2019s hard-hit ground ball up the middle that brought in two runs, trimming the deficit to 9-2.<\/p>\n<p>In the seventh inning, the Panthers made one final charge to keep their season alive. Alex Schukei drew a leadoff walk. Jaden Neugebauer launched a deep fly ball to the right field wall but Acalanes\u2019 right fielder threw a dart into second base, getting Neugebauer. With Schukei at third, Jorden Neugebauer lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to make it 9-3.<\/p>\n<p>Then with two outs, Luke Henderson\u2019s fly ball to center wasn\u2019t deep enough, resulting in an out to end the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were a lot of close games that we won and they just never gave up,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThat is a testament to their character at the end there. They weren\u2019t going to just go away. And we were trying to find ways, even though we were trailing by seven runs. They weren\u2019t going to go down without a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleven seniors will graduate from Chico High on Friday. The Panthers will have a few core pieces returning next season including sophomores Ryan Heym and Vinny Boatwright, freshman standout hitter Jaxxon Tweedt and Tuesday\u2019s leading hitter Jorden Neugebauer. Thomas said a silver lining from Tuesday\u2019s loss is that it will likely motivate the returning players next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always an opportunity to learn when you face tremendous adversity. When you lose in a 28-1 season and you end early, it\u2019s hard to swallow,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cBut if you could carry that with you into the next year and find ways to win games, that growth could come out of the frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Originally Published: June 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICO \u2013 The Chico High baseball team experienced the joy of winning a Northern Section title, various come-from-behind&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[5,12753,2178,12754,12751,3329,3263,853,1358,2328,2304,4,2305,2303,7164,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-79814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-postseason","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-butte-county","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-chico","12":"tag-chico-high-school","13":"tag-high-school-baseball","14":"tag-high-school-sports","15":"tag-latest-headlines","16":"tag-local-news","17":"tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","18":"tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","19":"tag-mlb","20":"tag-mlb-playoffs","21":"tag-mlb-postseason","22":"tag-newsletter","23":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114627631283704884","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}