Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Tanner Pidgeon

By Ray Hamill — The MVP awards are beginning to pile up for a pair of Little 4 standouts.

Seniors Tyler Hinrichs of St. Bernard’s and Tanner Pidgeon of Ferndale have been named co-MVPs in Little 4 baseball after impressive spring seasons for both players.

The awards follow the MVPs they each received in football in the fall, and both players, according to the their coaches, are well deserving of the honor.

Hinrichs was a nightmare matchup at the plate and one of the most difficult outs in the entire H-DNL.

“Tyler had a magical senior season,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “Offensively he hit .476 with a .556 on-base percentage and stole 31 bases.”

He also walked 18 times and struck out just five times all season.

And that wasn’t all this team leader brought to the table.

“He also led our team defensively from his shortstop position, and he pitched some big games for us,” the St. Bernard’s coach added. “He also took on a great leadership role for our nine freshmen playing varsity. He made his teammates better.”

In addition, the influential senior finished 3-2 on the mound with an ERA of 3.09 and three saves.

Hinrichs, who will play football at Simpson University in the fall, was also a co-MVP of the Big 4 on the football fields.

“Tyler had a remarkable senior year,” said Tomlin, who added “(He) is one of the greatest athletes in St. Bernard’s history.”

The same could be said of Pidgeon at Ferndale High.

After a phenomenal fall on the football fields, Pidgeon was named All-League in basketball and has now added a second MVP award in baseball.

This spring the influential senior led the Cats in hits, runs scored, stolen bases and batting average, and incredibly he only struck out twice all year.

But all of that pales in comparison to another statistic.

Almost every time he reached base, he would score.

“Just under 80 percent of the times he touched first base, he touched home plate,” Ferndale baseball head coach Justin Andersen said. “That’s a mind-blowing stat when you break it down.”

The multi-sport senior, who was named Ferndale High’s co-athlete of the year along with teammate Prescott Langer, contributed on both sides of the ball.

“He impacted our team significantly offensively and defensively,” Andersen said. “He was the spark plug that made our offense go … He was a big reason we were able to score as many runs as we did

“And he was lockdown behind the plate. He managed our pitchers, which was a huge lift for me.” 

Incredibly, Pidgeon averaged over .325 in each of his four years of high school baseball, and according to Andersen, “his work ethic is second to none.”

Pidgeon will play football at College of the Redwoods next year.

Several teammates joined the two MVPs on the Little 4 All-League team.

For the Crusaders, who went 12-0 on the way to securing this year’s conference title, senior Michael Manzi was included after an outstanding campaign that saw him play a key leadership role on a young roster. 

Manzi also was hugely influential on the team pitching, from behind the plate as well as on the mound.

Last year’s Little 4 MVP, Luke Bunton, also is included on the All-League team for SB despite being limited this spring due to injuries, along with Tyler’s younger brother, Henry Hinrichs, who enjoyed a breakout campaign as a sophomore, and impressive junior Braylon Johnson.

Langer also was included for the Wildcats, who finished second to the Crusaders in the race for the conference championship.

This is the third All-League selection of the school year for Langer, who also starred in football and basketball.

He is joined on the All-League team by teammate Cash Mobley, who is coming off another standout campaign and could be the best sophomore in the Little 4 right now.

Submitted photo – Travis “T-Bone” way (left).

St. Bernard’s and Ferndale each also had some key honorable mentions.

Saehwan Kwon, Garrett Shanahan, Dakota Bestul, Mason Noel and Teyler Bailey all were included for the champs, while Tristen Titus was included for Ferndale.

The South Fork Cubs, meanwhile, finished third in this year’s Little 4 and had two All-League selections.

Senior Travis “T-Bone” Way, who was one of the school’s two athletes of the year, was honored, along with standout sophomore Mason Bell, who rivals Mobley and Henry Hinrichs as one of the most impressive youngsters in the Little 4 right now.

Kael Puno was included among the honorable mentions for the Cubs.

The Hoopa Warriors finished fourth in this year’s conference and had one All-League selection, senior Allen Kane.

Kane was one of the bright spots on a young Hoopa team and led the way for his younger teammates as they adjusted to the varsity level.

The Warriors had four honorable mentions, including Brian Richards, Delmar Ferris, David Sylvia and Barret Myers.