05/30/2026
Shafter Falls in D-V Baseball Finals
Because of the comeback nature of his program, Shafter baseball coach David Schwartz’ faith never wavered until the final out.
But for the second consecutive season, the top-seeded Generals fell in the Central Section Division V championships, this time to No. 2 Minarets of O’Neals 10-9 on Friday evening at Valley Strong Ballpark in Visalia.
It was the third consecutive trip to the D-V finals for Shafter after winning the title in 2024.
“We’re a tough team. That’s the kind of game we expect to be in every time we go on the field,” Schwartz said. “Minarets is a great team, a great pitcher and all-around good team. We knew it was going to be a battle.”
And was it ever.
Both teams came into the finals averaging double-digit runs in the playoffs.
The Mustangs got on the board with two runs in the top of the first but Shafter took a 4-3 lead after scoring three runs in the bottom of the second.
Shafter senior Andy Gomez and Minarets junior Jamie Spurgeon both settled in on the mound before the bats came alive for both programs.
Spurgeon, a nationally recruited tight end for the Minarets football team, was a home run away from the cycle for the Mustangs.
Shafter senior Lukas Pena came up in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on and two RBIs in his previous four plate appearances, hit a line drive to right field with two outs, scoring two runs to cut the Minarets lead to one run, giving the Generals hope that their season would not end on the big stage for a second consecutive season.
Despite committing five fielding errors, the Generals had the game-tying run in scoring position before a fly ball on the next at-bat ended the game.
“That’s how we’ve hit all year. We’ve been down six, seven, eight runs and battled back,” Schwartz said. “So I didn’t feel the pressure in that situation because I knew who these guys are and what they are capable of.”
By Trevor Horn
For Kern High Network
