POSTSEASON PRIME: 31-26

31. Drew Hamburger

Homestead - senior - shortstop

The Skinny: Only two things could have made Drew Hamburger's senior season better: Perhaps a few more wins and a deep postseason run by the Mustangs, but they got "Kunged," in a 1-0 loss to Half Moon Bay and senior lefty Kai Kung in their CCS opener. The other thing would have been playing his final season with his twin brother on the team, but a labrum injury suffered during football season cost Will Hamburger the baseball season. "That would have been amazing," Drew said. Stories of the Hamburger twins tearing through the Sunnyvale youth baseball circuit have become legendary. One more season to make some memories in the SCVAL-De Anza Division would have been nice, but it wasn't meant to be. However, both will be attending Washington University of St. Louis – Drew to play baseball and to major in biomedical engineering and Will to play football – in the fall. "The pieces just fell into place naturally and we both ended up there. I love that I'll be going to school with my best friend."

Season Highlight: There's something about Senior Night, the last home game of a career and Hamburger responded to the emotion of the night by hitting an inside-the-park home run against Santa Clara that hit the fence and took a funky ricochet away from the outfielders. "The emotions were high and there were a ton of people out there," he said. "

"It's about getting used to a higher level of pitching that I will see in college. I've stepped in against some college pitchers this summer and I can feel a significant skill gap, but I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel like I can compete and with time, adjust to it."

The Numbers Tell the Story: His 38 hits fueled an on-base percentage of .514, while he had a .693 slugging percentage. He had an off-the-chart OPS of 1.207.

Eye-Popping Stat: In 105 plate appearances, Hamburger struck out just seven times.

30. Levi Wellman

Carlmont - senior - outfield

The Skinny: Sadly, Levi Wellman's two varsity seasons, might be remembered more for the way they ended – with two heartbreaking CCS quarterfinal losses where Carlmont blew late-inning multi-run leads to get eliminated. "They both felt the same," he said of the extra-inning loss to Santa Clara last year and the setback at Hollister last month. "It really sucked, but I think when I'm older and look back on the season, I'll remember the teammates and good memories more than the losses." Wellman, who will play ball at Santa Barbara City College in the fall, had a breakout senior season at the plate. "My bat really came alive this year, and it was really cool to see the work I've been putting in show up on the field." He put in countless hours in the fall and winter with hitting coach Jason Marley. "We really worked hard on creating a swing that was repeatable and consistent," he said. "In the past, I was streaky. When I was good, I was good, but then another day, I felt like a whole different player. That helped a lot in staying consistent throughout the year." Much of his consistency stemmed from a newfound mental approach to the game, too.

Season Highlight: Wellman got a lifetime thrill of playing a game at Oracle Park this season, but his personal highlight came in a 3-1 victory over The King's Academy in 10 innings on May 1. In that game, he homered, drove in two runs and pitched the final four innings to pick up the victory.

"I think what helped me a lot this year was my mentality coming into the year. I got a lot more confident as a ballplayer and just worked on my mental toughness a lot."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Of Wellman's 32 hits, 12 were for extra bases. He had an on-base percentage of .520. Wellman's OPS was 1.137.

Eye-Popping Stat: Wellman struck out just 12 times in 104 plate appearances.

29. Jacob Vines

Sacred Heart Cathedral - senior - pitcher

The Skinny: Jacob Vines developed a changeup this spring, a change-of-pace pitch that, when put next to his above-average fastball, made him a pitcher that could win any time he stepped to the mound in the WCAL. It's also a pitch that will play well when he gets to the University of Pacific in the fall. "That pitch really helped me," he said, saying he spent all spring working on it until he finally gained enough confidence to throw it in a game. "It took me a while, to be honest, but once I was successful with it, my season went smooth from there." Vines also stepped into the lineup as a first baseman on his non-pitching days and was the leading hitter in the Irish lineup. "That was the plan going into the season," he said. "... I had a great time helping the team on both sides." Vines batted .316 with two home runs and a team-leading 25 hits. In a series against Serra, he hit a home run in the first game and followed that up with a shutout victory in West Sunset Park.

Season Highlight: In the regular-season finale, an 8-0 victory at Riordan, he hit a home run and allowed one hit, while striking out eight, in five innings of work. "It was their Senior Day, and the crowd was chirping a lot," Vines said. "Also, it's nice to beat you City rivals."

"I would give my season a B+ because there were definitely some games I feel like I could have finished, but I threw too many pitches."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Opponents hit just .155 against Vines this year.

Eye-Popping Stat: In his three-year varsity career, Vines struck out 168 hitters in 124 innings.

28. Elijah Kroenung

Mitty - junior - first base

The Skinny: Way back in January, Brian Yocke let his Mitty Monarchs know that there were no guaranteed spots in the lineup, that every starting position was up for grabs. Junior first baseman Elijah Kroenung took that edict to heart by winning the job at first base and making himself an indispensable part of a lineup that would capture a CCS-Division II crown. "Nothing was set in stone coming into the season, so I had to work my tail off to get to where I wanted to be," he said. "The same applied to the team. Nothing was given to us. We had to earn it all." At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Kroenung is an imposing figure at the plate, and he anchored the middle of the lineup with a hitting approach that was both uncomplicated and often lethal. "Breathe. See. Smash," he said. "I try to keep hitting as simple as possible. I work so much on it, so during games, I have so much trust in myself and I just have fun."

Season Highlight: In a 20-3 victory over Santa Cruz in early April, Kroenung had four hits, including a home run and a double, while driving in a career-high six runs.

"When the playoffs came around, we clicked. We worked as a team, and we loved being around each other. We didn't want the season to end and that mindset got us far."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Kroenung had a .440 on-base percentage to go a .525 slugging percentage.

Eye-Popping Stat: Of his 37 hits, 10 went for extra bases, including seven doubles.

27. Joey Donati

Terra Nova - senior - catcher

The Skinny: In a season when nothing came easy for the Terra Nova Tigers, catcher Joey Donati was the exception. At least, he made it look easy by managing a pitching staff, shutting down the opponents' running game and being the Tigers' offensive leader. "We set the bar high for our team after last year," Donati said. "Coming into the season, we had high expectations and, I think, that got to our team a little." Terra Nova, which last year finished second in the PAL-Ocean Division and earned a home game in the CCS tournament, limped to a fourth-place finish in the Ocean this year, but that had little to do with Donati, who took off the football pads and eased seamlessly into his catching gear. It's a transition he is considering when he gets to Plymouth State University in New Hampshire in the fall. "Hopefully, I'm able to do both," said Donati, who is going there on a football scholarship. "I've (handled both sports) for four years of high school. I know it will be harder in college, but I'm up for it."

Season Highlight: The demands of playing catcher can often impact his offensive numbers, but Donati takes pride in surpassing the .400 plateau in batting average this season. "I think that's my personal season highlight."

"When it came to my two-strike approach, I chased too much. Luckily, I don't think I had too many at-bats where it got to two strikes."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Collected 35 hits and had a .458 on-base percentage to go with a slugging percentage of .616. That equates to an OPS of 1.074.

Eye-Popping Stat: In a 13-2 victory over Mills on April 23, Donati collected five hits, including two home runs, scored four runs and drove in eight. "I was having a good day, and they were serving it up," he said.

26. Christian Louie

San Mateo - senior - pitcher

The Skinny: If Christian Louie has thrown his final pitch in a competitive baseball game, he says he'll be fine with it. His education and acceptance at UC-Berkeley awaits him. "I'll be OK, but it will be bittersweet. It's a scenario I knew was very possible when going through the college recruitment and decision process. I understood that baseball could end in high school for me, and I am very happy with all the choices I've made." The only sticking point is that the senior southpaw put together a magical senior season in helping San Mateo to its first CCS bid since 2016 and shared PAL-Ocean Division pitcher of the year honors. That sparked a desire to want to continue playing baseball. "I'm not sure what my baseball future will look like yet," he says. "I have a few options moving forward. I can try out in hopes of making the team as a walk-on, or I might play on the club team." He also left open the option of transferring to another school, but that will depend on how his first year in Berkeley goes. "Playing baseball in the future would be fun, but I know I'm not going to play in the MLB one day. My priority is to study hard and get an education, which is why I chose Cal over other opportunities to play collegiate baseball."

Season Highlight: You can point to two 1-0 extra-inning losses – one to Rallin Covey with the Ocean Division title on the line and the other to Kai Kung and Half Moon Bay in the CCS-Division V title game – as personal highlights, but Louie says he will remember his teammates more. "My highlight was being able to hang out with my teammates and closest friends each day," he said. "... The games were definitely fun and memorable, but I probably will forget about them eventually. I won't forget the fun times I shared with my friends."

"Those two 1-0 losses were some of the most exciting games I've ever played in. They both have different qualities that make them memorable. The game against (Sacred Heart Prep) was fun because it was such a great pitching duel. It was awesome to go up against Covey, who is an incredible pitcher. The constant back and forth was amazing to be a part of. The Half Moon Bay game was memorable because of the crowd and situation at hand."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Louie had 102 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings and opponents hit just .171 against him.

Eye-Popping Stat: Louie pitched parts of four seasons at the varsity level. He logged 199 innings and struck out 260 batters.