If it’s the Central Coast Section baseball playoffs, you will find Christopher somewhere in the brackets. In 2025, the Cougars closed with a rush to qualify for postseason play for the 10th straight non-Covid year.
CHS went 16-11 overall, 8-6 and tied for fourth in league play. In postseason competition in CCS Division III, the Cougars upset Palo Alto 3-2 on the road in the quarterfinals, then lost a pitcher’s duel to eventual champ Carmel 2-0 in the semifinals.
You would have to go back to 2013 to find a spring of baseball playoffs without the Cougars. Additionally, CHS captured section titles in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
After clinching a playoff spot with a 10-0 blowout of Santa Teresa on the road May 14, Christopher coach Ryan Dequin commented on the winning formula in 2025.
“The pitching staff has been great,” Dequin said. “The defense has been phenomenal. It’s been a little up and down on getting run support.”
The offense was certainly on the “up” in the win at Santa Teresa, as Christopher piled up 10 runs in their first three innings.
“We took care of business against a team we should take care of,” Dequin said. “There were playoff implications on the line. We needed to win one of our last two against them. We had good swings and Nick (Valentine) was throwing well.”
With the offense concurrently percolating, ace hurler Nick Valentine was dominating Santa Teresa. He fanned six of the first nine batters on his way to an eight-K shutout in a five-inning run-rule win.
“We really feel good coming off the Leigh game,” Valentine said. “Today was a must-win game, as we were one game from the playoffs and we got it. Today, my fastball felt good and my off-speed was working. I used the changeup and had the curve working inside.”
In the first, Jaxon Robinson smashed a pitch that one-hopped the fence in right center to plate two and he later came around to score. In the second, Jacob Vasquez and Jacob Huerta had back-to-back triples as part of a two-run frame.
The Cougars added five more in the third. Liam Aragon singled, Robinson bashed a ground-rule double to left and Abrahm Cid singled. Add in two Saints errors and it was 10-0.
“It feels good,” Robinson said. “We had a hot start today. The bats are getting hot. We were jumping on the first pitch we see. We are excited about the playoffs but are focusing on one game at a time.”
All season long, the Christopher mound crew was led by the double dynamite duo of Valentine and Matthew Anderson—two fireballers with an additional repertoire of curves, sliders and changeups. Valentine was 8-5 on the season, with a 2.17 ERA in 71 innings pitched, while Anderson threw 65 innings with a 4-3 mark and a 2.05 ERA.
Dequin would also utilize Aaron Van Kerkwyk, with a 2.44 ERA, to close games and Aiden Mojica and others saw time on the hill.
Late in the year, the Cougars defense included Huerta at third, Sam Guenther and Vasquez as the keystone combination in the middle and Robinson at first base. Depth was provided by Jacob Casares, Van Kerkwyk and Anderson.
On the outfield grass were Brayden Rogers, Cid and Aragon. That’s quite a young crew flanking the senior Cid, with Rogers and Aragon both freshmen. Depth came from Casares, Van Kerkwyk and Alcantar.
Diego Enriquez and Mojica also could catch or play out in the field. Fabian Sotelo and Noah Baez added depth.
The attack was led by Guenther, at 21-for-61 for a .344 average, with 12 RBIs and 10 steals. Aragon had a great debut, going 19-for-56 for a .339 mark with 11 RBIs. Robinson led the power game with three homers, while hitting a robust .302, at 16-for-53, and contributing 14 RBIs. Huerta scored 16 runs and knocked in 11.
Highlights of the season were many. Facing a late-game 5-2 deficit versus Live Oak, the Cougars scored four in the sixth for an exciting win. In the second contest against Hollister, Robinson was 2-for-3 as Christopher rallied from behind with two in the top of the seventh and a 3-2 win. Guenther homered against Gunderson and the Cougars swept Gilroy 18-2 and 4-3.
Valentine spun a complete game four-hitter to beat Leland 5-1 and Anderson threw another complete game in the rematch, allowing just one hit in a 7-0 romp. Valentine tossed another complete game four-hitter to beat Pioneer 4-1 and a two-hit, 10-strikeout gem to whip Westmont 5-0. Anderson fired a five-hit beauty to beat Santa Teresa 2-1.
Every other game, it seemed Huerta, Vasquez, Rogers, Aragon and Guenther had two hits.
The Cougars closed the campaign with six wins in their last nine games, fighting through the fierce competition in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mt. Hamilton Division. Leigh won the league, with Pioneer and Willow Glen a step behind. The Cougars and Branham tied for fourth and both made the five-team cutoff for the playoffs. Back in the rear came Santa Teresa, Westmont and Leland.
In the final rush, Christopher beat Westmont 6-1 and 5-0, edged Gilroy 4-3 in a non-league game, and after two stumbles against Willow Glen, the Cougars faced Leigh in the usual home-and-home series.
CHS lost the opener on the road but came back to knock off the Longhorns two days later in a 7-5 nine-inning thriller. Christopher trailed 5-3 heading into the last of the seventh but tied it and won in extra innings, with the highlight being a two-run homer from Robinson.
Chistopher then clinched the playoffs with the 10-0 win at Santa Teresa and won 2-1 over the Saints on Senior Night. Guenther knocked in both runs and Anderson twirled a complete-game five-hitter.
In the playoff opener, Guenther had two hits and Vasquez collected two hits and two steals to beat Palo Alto. Valentine allowed just three hits and one run in five innings and Anderson pitched two frames.
In the semifinals against top-seeded Carmel over at Sollecito Park in Monterey, the Padres prevailed 2-0. Christopher out-hit Carmel six to five but couldn’t put anyone across the plate.
It was another winning season and another trip to the playoffs. The standard at Christopher baseball continues.
