The North Hollywood Huskies Varsity baseball team finished their 2026 season with a tied record of 14-14, competing in the CIF LA City Section Division 1. They showed peak performance, winning significant games against Polytechnic, but faced challenges against top teams like Sylmar, ultimately placing third in the Valley Mission League.
With the spring season beginning on March 2, the Huskies started off strong, defeating both Legacy (3-1) and Wilson High School (3-1). They also won a pre-tournament matchup (not counted) on March 8 against Clark High School in Nevada. The team quickly built early season momentum with both league and non-league wins.
The Chavez Eagles went down on March 9 (8-4), with Sophomore, Anthony Scandoval (#34) striking out 8 batters over five innings, securing a third consecutive win.
“I feel like I’ve been improving over this season,” says Scandoval. “My goal is to stay focused and help my team in any way I can.” His stats have shown his commitment and excellence in baseball. He has also maintained a streak of four consecutive appearances with two or fewer walks as of late March to early April. Scandoval maintains a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 and more than 15 strikeouts in total.
Junior Mateo Pignotti (#2) set a new career-high in RBIs by going 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. RBI stands for Run Batted In, which is credited to a batter when a run is scored in his plate appearance. Pignotti is a shortstop/second baseman, known for his speed and strong offensive performance. “I work hard and achieve my goals. Baseball is all about improving and playing better every game. You have to out-practice and out-play your opponents.”
They continued their win streak, winning against Kennedy High School (5-3) on March 19. The Huskies suffered their first loss of the season against Sylmar High School on March 26, going down 13-3. Despite the loss, Pignotti recorded three RBI and a stolen base. On April 6, they won against Verdugo Hills High School (5-3).
The team beat Verdugo Hills High School for the second time on April 9, dominating the innings and winning the game with a score of 7-2. Sophomore Hayden Crawford (#7) pitched all 7 innings, allowing only two runs to be scored. He maintains a .900 fielding percentage, currently above the national average. Pignotti went 3-4 with 2 stolen bases, one run, and a double.
On April 15, the Huskies defeated Polytechnic High School 4-2.
A day later on the 16th, varsity faced a home game loss against Poly 0-3. Despite the loss, junior varsity swept Poly 19-1. The Huskies lost 4-5 to Kennedy High School on April 20. Despite the loss, the Junior Varsity Baseball team beat Kennedy 7-5.
The season concluded with an even 14-14 score. Even though they won and lost many games, each player has continued to improve and set new personal records.
