For the first time since 2003, the Kingsburg Vikings are champions. The Vikings defeated the No. 2 seed Dos Palos Broncos 7-5 on May 25 to capture the CIF Central Section Division III baseball crown.
Kingsburg entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and were on a mission from the beginning of the season which concluded with the Section Championship win at Valley Strong Ballpark in Visalia.
"This group has been together for a long time and are familiar with each other," said Jim Cranford, Kingsburg head coach. "Our gameplan is to swing the bats, this group can swing bat and the more offensive we are the better we are."
After Dos Palos scored two runs in the top of the first inning, Kingsburg answered right back.
Holden Hirschkorn led off the Vikings part of the inning with a homerun. His twin brother, Houston, added two RBIs in the inning to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead after the first inning.
Kingsburg added five more runs in the bottom of the second inning led by Ethan Winslow who had a two-rbi single and Houston Hirschkorn who added his third RBI.
The Vikings held off a late rally by Dos Palos to earn the championship.
"This team this year was amazing from the very beginning we knew we had something special. Everyone knew what the goal was and was focused every single day," Winslow said. "I wouldn’t have wanted to play with any other group of guys. This was a special year and something I won’t forget."
Kingsburg was the No. 1 seed in the playoffs in 2022 but fell in the semifinals. That loss was a motivation but not the key to the season.
"With this group, that was a driving factor but not the defining factor," Cranford said. "These kids love to play baseball and will stay out there all night and do it on their own and want to be good. Period!"
The Vikings baseball teams (Varsity and JV teams) won a combined 50 games this season. The future looks bright for Kingsburg to continue to compete for Section Championships.
"The kids appreciate it here. Kingsburg always been noted as baseball here is special kids are ones getting done and they want to play Clovis and better teams around they meet challenges head on," Cranford said. "Will play anybody and anywhere."
Kingsburg received the seed the No. 1 seed in the Division II NorCal Regional Championships and hosted No. 8 seed Bellarmine College Prep on May 30. No score was available at presstime. With a win, the Vikings would advance to play the winner of the game between No. 4 seed St. Ignatius College Prep and No. 5 seed Granite Bay. The semifinals would be played Thursday, June 1 with the championship game being played on Saturday, June 3 at higher seeded teams home field.