Players who love the game find a way to keep playing.
Eight former San Diego Section high school baseball stars have found a way to stay in the game, toiling in the independent Pioneer League.
And on Father’s Day, Del Norte High School graduate Garret Ostrander made headlines.
Playing second base for the Idaho Falls Chukars, Ostrander hit for natural cycle — a single, double, triple and three-run home run, in that order — in a 23-12 win over the RedPocket Mobiles. Ostrander went 4-for-6, scored five runs and drove in five as he accomplished one of the rarest feats in sports. (Consider: There have been only 14 natural cycles in the history of Major League Baseball.)
A utility player for the independent Chukars, who were 12-26 through Wednesday’s games, Ostrander has played second base, shortstop, third base, all three outfield positions and has pitched.
He’s hitting .394 with a homer, 11 doubles, a triple, scored 43 runs and has struckout just 15 times in 177 plate appearances.
Ostrander played collegiately at Cal Baptist, where he batted .334 over a four-year career.
More Pioneer League:
• Left-hander Jackson Betancourt (Mira Mesa) is pitching for the Billings Mustangs and is 2-0 after 10 appearances.
• Catcher Johnny Luetzow (La Jolla Country Day) is hitting .500 after three games with the Glacier Range Riders, scoring five runs. Luetzow was an Academic All-American at Santa Clara.
• Ethan Ross (Southwest-El Centro) is 1-0 after 13 appearances for Yuba-Sutter and RedPocket. He pitched collegiately at San Jose State.
• Outfielder Garrett Bevacqua (La Costa Canyon) is hitting .417 with 14 RBIs after 23 games with the Ogden Raptors. Bevacqua, who played college ball at Lewis-Clark State, is the son of former Padres player Kurt Bevacqua.
• Right-hander Aidan Risse (La Jolla Country Day) is 1-4 in eight appearances and 41 2/3 innings for the Oakland Ballers. He played four seasons at Bard College before finishing at USF.
• Outfielder Kingston Liniak (Mission Hills) is playing for the Modesto Roadsters, hitting .309 with 8 homers and 27 RBIs in 27 games. Liniak was a fourth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2018 and has played for 11 minor-league teams over 14 stops.
• Shortstop Anthony Mata (Grossmont) is hitting .324 with a pair of homers, 11 doubles, 10 steals and 19 RBIs after 27 games for the Long Beach Coast, which is 29-8 to lead the league. Mata played collegiately at UC Riverside.
FILE – Athletes Unlimited Softball League players Sharlize Palacios, left, of the Talons, and Sis Bates of the Bolts, are interviewed at Major League Baseball’s headquarters in New York, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
Pro softball
Four locals are playing professional softball in the Athletes Unlimited league:
• Infielder Hannah Flippen (Bonita Vista) has played in nine games for the Utah Talons. Flippen played college ball at Utah.
• Catcher Sharlize Palacios (Eastlake) is hitting .267 after six games for the Talons. She played collegiately at Arizona and UCLA.
• Pitcher Megan Faraimo (Cathedral Catholic) is 2-2 with a 4.61 ERA in six appearances for the Talons. She played at UCLA.
• Outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer (Patrick Henry) is in the Reserve Pool for the Texas Volts. She played collegiately at Arizona and Texas.
The league has seven teams — two in Texas and one each in North Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Illinois and Utah.
He’s No. 1
USA Today has listed Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (Carlsbad) as the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Sayin threw for 3,610 yards last season while completing an FBS-best 77% of his passes.
He’s back
After entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, the much-traveled basketball player Mikey Williams (San Ysidro) has elected to stay at Sacramento State. He played in 21 games for the Hornets last season, averaging 17.1 points and 4.5 assists.
Williams started his college career at Memphis, then transferred to Central Florida before landing at Sacramento State.
Conference champ
Stanford’s Brandy Atuatasi (West Hills) won the ACC women’s discus with a throw of 183 feet, the fifth-best throw in school history. Her previous best was 177-6 in limited action last season. Atuatasi was a four-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll honoree.
NCAA champion
UCLA’s Ensley Alden (San Marcos) and partner Kaley Mathews won the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Alabama. Alden finished the season with a 28-8 record. Bruins teammate Adelina Okazaki, a Point Loma graduate, was 9-1 this season.