Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Caleb Ruiz led the Crabs this summer with a record of 8-0.

By Ray Hamill — Baseball continues to thrive here on the North Coast and it was no surprise to see a large group of local players all play a significant role for the Humboldt Crabs this summer.

Six former H-DNL standouts made the 2022 roster and they helped pave the way for another hugely successful campaign as the Crabs finished the season with a record of 36-10.

In particular, the local players had a big impact on the mound.

St. Bernard’s Caleb Ruiz was a team ace and led the Crabs with a record of 8-0 in nine starts.

The busy Ruiz pitched a team-high 60.1 innings and remarkably walked just seven batters all summer while striking out a co-team-high 60 and posting an ERA of 2.37.

He wasn’t the only local pitcher to impress with his control.

Merek Sears, Cameron Saso, Garrison Finck and Hayden Bode all had an outstanding strikeout to walk ratio.

Saso, who also impressed at shortstop and at the plate, was a force out of the bullpen in limited action and led the team with four saves in four opportunities.

The go-to closer walked five and struck out 15 in 10.1 innings in 10 appearances, while posting an ERA of 2.61.

Finck, who was 2-for-2 in save opportunities, struck out 25 and walked just three in 21.1 innings in 11 appearances.

He had an ERA of 3.79.

Humboldt Crabs Baseball – Hayden Bode

Bode was equally effective in middle relief, striking out 19 and walking three in 19 innings in 12 appearances.

He had an ERA of 4.73.

Sears, who will play at the University of Houston this coming year, was only with the Crabs for half the season but enjoyed a very productive June in what was the toughest part of the schedule.

The former Arcata Tiger finished 2-0 in four starts and threw 27 innings in five appearances.

He had an ERA of 1.33, which was second best on the team, and struck out 24 batters while walking just six.

At the plate, recent Eureka High graduate Jackson Giacone enjoyed an impressive debut summer with the longtime local club.

Giacone closed out with a bang and played this best baseball down the stretch, while batting .305 for the season.

He appeared in 29 games and finished with seven doubles and 20 RBIs, while also walking 21 times and striking out a team-high 38 times.

Saso, meanwhile, batted .224 in 24 appearances, while driving in 11 runs and walking 20 times.

He had four doubles and one triple.