Mendoza records no-hitter as Crimson Bears open road series with 26-0 win

JDHS pitcher strikes out nine, walks one against Eagle River in game called after five innings

In this file photo, sophomore second baseman Micah Nelson throws to senior first baseman Riley Fick for a double play in a game against Sitka at Moller Field on April 11, 2026. (James Poulson / The Daily Sitka Sentinel)

By Klas Stolpe  

Juneau Independent

The Southeast Conference Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé baseball team scored early against the Cook Inlet Conference Eagle River Wolves on the road Wednesday and continued the onslaught through to a 26-0 win over five innings behind a no-hitter delivered by senior Marcus Mendoza.

“Our kids did what they had to do,” JDHS coach Luke Adams said. “And it was a good way to start the road trip.”

Mendoza struck out nine batters in the win and only one opponent reached base on a walk. The JDHS defense handled the rest.

“He did a really great job on the mound for us today,” Adams said. “He threw a lot of strikes. He showed a lot of command and control. Out of a senior you can’t ask for anything more, especially at this time of year. It was good to see him step up and finish that game off.”

JDHS sophomore Micah Nelson led off the top of the first inning with a double, stole third and scored on a single by senior Nate Fick for a 1-0 tally. Fick stole second and third while senior Madden Mendoza was earning a walk. Madden Mendoza stole second while sophomore Charlie Begenyi was earning his free pass to first base.

With the bases loaded senior Tyler Kookesh reached on an error scoring Fick. Marcus Mendoza hit a fly ball out that scored Madden Mendoza and junior Hunter Carte hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Begenyi for a 4-0 lead. One runner would be stranded on base after a final ground ball out.

Marcus Mendoza took care of business early on the mound, striking out the first two batters faced and forcing the third to ground out to shortstop Madden Mendoza. He fielded a ground ball and threw to senior first baseman Riley Fick for the first out of the second inning, then struck out his third and fourth victims in the game. He had his fifth strikeout in the third inning and Carte fielded two outs at third.

JDHS kept pressuring home plate throughout the game. In the top of the second inning freshman Bode Winkleman doubled and advanced to third base, then was caught trying to score on a Nelson ground ball back to the mound. Nelson reached second, stole third and scored on a single by Fick for 5-0. Fick would steal third and score on a wild pitch for 6-0.

“We have created a good culture in practice with what we are doing in our approach in the cage,” Adams said. “Having a lot of purpose, making a lot of adjustments. The kids have been buying into it. So it is always good to get a game that can showcase that stuff.”

Marcus Mendoza hit a one-out double in the top of the third inning. Freshman courtesy runner Myles Pasion came in and stole third and scored on a hard ground ball by Carte for 7-0. Carte stole second, senior Chris Andersen earned a walk and both advanced on a wild pitch. Winkleman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Nelson grounded out to third, scoring Carte for 8-0. N. Fick earned a walk to load the bags and was replaced by freshman courtesy runner Parker Katasse. Madden Mendoza singled in Winkleman and Andersen for 10-0. Katasse and Madden Mendoza advanced on a wild pitch to Begenyi who earned a walk to load the bases again. Kookesh singled scoring Katasse and Madden Mendoza for 12-0 before the side was retired.

In the top of the fourth Andersen hit a one-out single, Winkleman and N. Fick earned walks (Katasse replaced Fick on base). Madden Mendoza walked scoring Andersen for 13-0. Begenyi earned a walk on a new Eagle River pitcher, scoring Winkleman for 14-0 and Kookesh doubled, scoring Katasse and Madden Mendoza for 16-0. Marcus Mendoza singled, scoring Begenyi for 17-0 and courtesy runner Pasion took the base for JDHS’ hurler Mendoza. Carte earned a walk to load the bases. Andersen walked scoring Kookesh for 18-0. Winkleman singled in Pasion for 19-0 and Nelson singled to center, scoring Carte for 20-0 before the side was retired, stranding three runners on base.

Nelson fielded a ground ball out to start the bottom of the fourth inning, Benenyi caught a fly ball out in right field and Marcus Mendoza struck out his sixth batter to end the inning.

In an unusual result, Eagle River issued intentional walks to nine JDHS batters in the top of the fifth inning to save pitching. The Crimson Bears scored six runs in that transaction and Marcus Mendoza struck out the Wolves in the bottom half to win by mercy rule.

“Once we got hot, we started building off each other’s momentum and we put up some good numbers today,” Adams said. “Definitely going to enjoy that today and get ready for South (Anchorage) tomorrow.”

Unofficial stats showed every JDHS team member scored a run.

Kookesh led with five runs batted in, going 2-4 at the plate, with one walk and scoring two runs. Nelson went 2-5 (2 runs scored, 3 RBI, 1 BB), N. Fick 2-3 (2R, 3 RBI, 3BB, 1 strike out), Madden Mendoza 1-2 (4R, 3RBI, 3BB, 1SO), Begenyi 0-1 (3R, 1RBI, 4BB), Marcus Mendoza 2-4 (1R, 3RBI, 1BB, 1SO), Carte 0-3 (3R, 3RBI, 2BB), Andersen 1-2 (3R, 2RBI, 3BB), Winkleman 2-2 (2R, 2RBI, 2BB) and R. Fick 1-1 (1R, 1RBI, 1BB). N. Fick stole three bases, Nelson two, Carte, Madden Mendoza, Pasion and Kookesh one each. (All stats are unofficial).

The JDHS JV team also topped Eagle River 20-0.

“We put a lot of young players in there,” Adams said. “And the kids are buying into what we are doing in the program. All the assistant coaches are taking their areas of speciality and we are trying to build every day and get better every week.”

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.