College of the Redwoods Athletics

College of the Redwoods closed out the 2026 college baseball season against Butte College late last week and split a two-game series at Belotti Field.

Redwoods took game one 9-4 on Thursday before dropping game two 16-9 the following day, closing out the season with a 4-21 record in the Golden Valley Conference and 6-32 overall.

Game one featured an exciting finish, as Redwoods rallied from a late 4-3 deficit with six runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on for the win.

Ryan Naillon led the team at the plate in the win, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and was one of five CR players to finish with multiple hits.

Former McKinleyville Panther Tyson Bragg, who will play at New Mexico Highlands next year, and former Eureka Logger Robert Williams both also impressed at the plate.

Bragg finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, while Williams was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Carson Fleming (2-for-4 with a double) and David MacDonald (2-for-3) each also had two hits for CR, while Xavier Le Pena was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Tristen Valenzuela pitched seven solid innings for a no-decision, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out six.

Game two was tied 9-9 after six innings, but the Roadrunners would pull away with seven unanswered runs down the stretch.

“Really glad to pick up that W on the last weekend,” CR head coach John Downey said. “Disappointed we couldn’t pull out one more for the sophomores on their last day, but I’m really proud of this group.”

Bragg closed out an impressive two years with the team with another big performance, finishing 3-for-5 with a triple, two doubles and two RBIs.

Williams also capped a good couple of days by going 2-for-4 with a double, while Fleming was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Despite their struggles this spring, the Redwoods players continued to battle and their perseverance earned them the respect of their coaches.

“They could have packed it in a long time ago and they never did,” Downey said. “They showed toughness all year long. We grew as a program and we will use this experience to grow even more for next year.

“I can’t say enough about our sophomores. They will be missed.”

Downey is already looking ahead to 2027 and is confident the experience this spring will help the team moving forward.

“Really excited about this young group,” the coach said. “There’s a really solid core that we’re pumped about coming back and adding on top of. The future is bright here at CR.”