Throughout the 2026 baseball season, two teams solidified themselves atop the Northern Section: The Foothill Cougars and Chico Panthers.
The two Eastern Athletic League foes battled in some intense games all year long, even splitting the first four matchups with Chico holding a +1 advantage in the run differential.
When the two teams met at Tiger Field on Saturday, May 23, for the fifth time this season in the NSCIF Division II championship game, it was the Panthers (22-8) who slugged their way to a dominant 13-0 win, finally and firmly establishing themselves as the section’s top team.
Chico immediately got off to a blazing hot start. The Panther offense put up four runs in the first inning, Chico pitcher Tanner Horn set down the top of the Cougars (22-8) lineup in order, and the offense came back to put up three more runs in the second.
“It wasn’t the start that we wanted and the start that we needed to get us going, to feel good about ourselves,” Foothill manager Todd Buck said. “But, that’s a really good baseball team, so I told our kids not to hang their heads.”
By the time Foothill’s No. 4 hitter, Bill Duchi, came up to bat for the first time, the Cougars already trailed by seven runs.
“(We have) a young group of kids,” Buck said. “I don’t want to say the moment was too big for us because I like to think we’re better than that, but it just got away from us early.”
Foothill junior Colton Douglas notched a hit in his first at-bat in the second inning, but after that, Horn held the Cougars hitless.
“After the first inning, we were flat,” Douglas said. “Usually after the first inning, even if a team scores on us, we could bounce back.”
That wasn’t the case on Saturday. The Cougars struggled to put the ball in play, and when they did, the Chico defense was nearly flawless.
“We dug ourselves in such a big hole, it’s really hard (to get out),” Bucks said. “Kids go up there, and they press. They try to put too many up instead of chipping away, and that’s what happened.”
For Douglas, the energy in the dugout shifted after that second inning. Not only did the Panthers score three runs in the inning, but two of them came off a soul-crushing two-run homer from Chico senior Guiseppe Bianchi.
Instead of an energized dugout like the Cougars started the day with, there was a feeling of desperation, and it only made things worse.
“The second inning came around, they scored again, and then we were just more flat,” Douglas said. “We just weren’t hitting; the defense wasn’t going our way.”
The Panthers put up five more runs the rest of the game, including a grand slam from Bianchi for his second home run of the game, and things just continued to fall apart for Foothill.
“Had we been able to escape with a three-run deficit after the first couple innings, it’s a different thing,” Buck said. “It’s a different mindset.”
Despite the heartbreaking championship loss, the Cougars might not be done yet.
Along with the Division II-VI champions, the Northern Section sends one extra team to the state playoffs. With how strong a season the Cougars played, it’s likely they get that extra spot.
Other sections across the CIF are still finishing up their section championship games, so the Cougars likely won’t find out if their season continues for another week.
Whether they get that state playoff bid or not, the 2026 season was one that Buck and his crew will always remember.
“I learned that this group battled; they battle through thick and thin,” Buck said. “A couple of them were talking about how meaningful it was for them this year, and to be in big games. That’s one of the things that we try to do and pride ourselves on, is we try to play in a lot of big games.”
The Cougars had a taste, and now they are hungry for more.
While Foothill will lose a couple of key starters to graduation, a large group of the lineup and pitching staff will return next season.
“I think we’ll be perfectly fine for next year,” Douglas said. “We going to practice hard, condition, do all we need to do in the winter; stay healthy, and we’ll get through it. We’ll be right back here next year.”
While Saturday’s championship game didn’t go their way, it doesn’t erase the hard work Buck saw this group put in day in and day out.
“We may not be the most talented group, but we’re going to play hard every pitch, every at-bat,” Buck said. “It’s Foothill baseball. That’s how we do it.”
It will be a long offseason for the Cougars, and while this loss stings, there’s hope for the future of the program.
“All season long, we played our hearts out; we deserve to be here,” Douglas said. “Not the outcome we wanted, but I expect to be back here. Same time next year.”
Brett Abrams is a sports reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. He covers high school and local sports in the Redding area. Reach out to Brett with any sports tips or news on X (formerly Twitter) @brabrams_ or by email at Brett.Abrams@Redding.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Chico baseball overwhelms Foothill in NSCIF championship game
Reporting by Brett Abrams, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
