El Capitan High School alumnus Kevin Ginkel finished the 2023 Major League Baseball season in seventh heaven as the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the end goal of every Little Leaguer’s dream: a trip to the World Series.
The National League champion D-Backs didn’t reach their pot of gold with a runner-up finish to the American League champion Texas Rangers, losing in five games.
But the journey to the championship series was filled with magical memories as both Arizona and Texas entered the 2023 playoffs as wild cards.
Ginkel, who attended Southwestern College following his stint as a Vaquero, was a major surprise for the NL champions last season as a relief pitcher. In 60 game appearances, he posted a 9-1 record with a 2.48 earned-run average and 70 strikeouts in 65.1 innings.
The 30-year-old San Diego native is back with continued resolve to conclude unfinished business in 2024 with the Arizona club. He’s appeared in two games so far this season with three strikeouts in two innings and a 0.00 ERA.
It’s looking good so far.
The D-Backs are off to a 3-2 start behind the 5-2 Los Angeles Dodgers and ahead of the 3-4 San Diego Padres, 2-3 San Francisco Giants and 1-4 Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies have been pegged to finish last in the division with the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres and Giants picked up fight it out for the division title. It looks to be a four-way scramble.
The Padres and Dodgers are 1-1 to start the season after a much-publicized two-game series in Korea while the Pads and Giants are 2-2 in four games.
The Dodgers topped the Friars, 5-2, in the season opener on March 20. The Padres came back to claim a high-scoring 15-11 match-up on March 21.
The Friars slipped past the Giants, 6-4, in their home opener on March 28. The Giants came back to score 8-3 and 9-6 road victories before the hosts won the final game in the series, 13-4.
The Padres’ local contribution is pitcher Joe Musgrove by way of Grossmont High School.
Musgrove pitched 2.2 innings in the 15-11 win over the Dodgers with two strikeouts while yielding five runs on seven hits.
He was on the losing end in the 8-3 loss to the Giants. He pitched 5.2 innings with three strikeouts while giving up four runs on eight hits.
In the two games, the 31-year-old El Cajon native logged 8.1 innings on the mound with a 9.72 ERA and five strikeouts.
Compare that to a 10-3 record, 3.05 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 97.1 innings last season as the Padres finished third in the NL West standings but missed the playoffs despite high hopes.
His career statistics feature a 60-58 record, 3.77 ERA and 954 strikeouts in 964.2 innings.
A return to form for Musgrove could land the Padres in postseason play this season.
College baseball: Riordan no-hitter caps SDSU twin-bill sweep
San Diego State University’s Jacob Riordan tossed the ninth no-hitter in program history March 29 as the Aztecs shut out New Mexico 13-0 for the seven-inning run-rule victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
A transfer from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Atlanta native threw 111 pitches across seven innings, overcoming six walks by matching his season-high with eight strikeouts to help the Aztecs (8-17, 4-8 Mountain West) complete the doubleheader sweep.
Earlier in the day, SDSU was victorious in the first game of the twin-bill by an 8-6 score.
The Aztecs have recorded no-hitters in back-to-back years for the first time in program history after T.J. Fondtain blanked Nevada, 4-0, on April 21, 2023.
Riordan was named MW Pitcher of the Week, a career first, while Aztec teammate Colby Turner was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Week for the fourth time already this season.
Both players played prominent roles in helping the Aztecs to a home series victory over New Mexico, March 28-29.
Riordan was part of an Aztec pitching staff that held the Lobos to a .155 batting average for the series after the Lobos entered the weekend with a conference-leading .332 clip. New Mexico was also the league’s top scoring team, entering the series with an average of 9.4 runs per game, which ranked 18th nationally as of March 27. However, the Lobos averaged just 3.67 runs for the series.
For the season, Riordan has posted a 3-1 record with a 3.60 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 35.0 innings pitched. He leads the conference in opponent batting average (.186) and fewest hits allowed (22) while occupying the sixth spot in strikeouts (39) and the eighth position in ERA (3.60).
Meanwhile, Turner compiled a .385 batting average, a .692 slugging percentage, nine total bases and four RBI for the UNM series, with the latter three ranking second on the squad.
In the doubleheader nightcap, Turner went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base, giving teammate Riordan ample offensive support en route to his no-hitter. The Aztec third baseman launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning of that contest to close out the scoring in the Aztecs’ 13-0 romp.
Entering last week, Turner led the team in several categories, including a .378 batting average and a .633 slugging percentage, which rank fourth and fifth in the Mountain West, respectively. In addition, the Aztec newcomer tops the squad in on-base percentage (.424), total bases (57), hits (34), RBI (22) and runs scored (20).
