Enterprise and Shasta have battled in some intense matchups throughout the 2025-26 academic year.
They clashed in the River Bowl football game back in October with Enterprise claiming the trophy. They faced off twice during the basketball season, splitting the two games.
The rivalry continued on Friday, March 27, when the Wolves (6-6) baseball team hit the field at Enterprise High to face the Hornets (7-5-1) for the third time this week. The Hornets won the first game 6-3, the Wolves won the second 3-2, and Friday’s contest would decide the season winner.
Shasta senior Jack Peterson was there for it all. He was the Wolves’ starting quarterback and a forward on the basketball team. On Friday afternoon, he was batting leadoff for Wolves as their starting first baseman.
On the first pitch of the game, Peterson ripped a single to right field. On the third pitch of the game, he stole second. A single and a passed ball later, Peterson crossed home plate for the game’s first score.
It would be the first of Shasta’s 15 runs as it slugged its way to a dominant 15-5 win over the Hornets.
“Today we played to our capabilities … everything just synced up for us today,” Shasta coach Travis Bassham said. “Baseball is one of those games where when you’re feeling really good and relaxed, hits start to flow a bit more, and that was the case today.”
As a leadoff batter, Peterson played a big role in setting the tone of the game by getting on base.
“It’s very important; it sets a lot of the momentum,” Peterson said. “If I can get on base, we can start playing small while getting me into running position and have Eli (Kennedy) and Ty (Jones), those guys are good hitters, have them come up and hit me home.”
That’s exactly what happened. After Peterson stole second, Kennedy was the one to hit a single and allow Peterson to advance to third. Peterson scored on a passed ball during Jones’ at bat.
“I think if I can get on base, we’re definitely scoring a run in the first inning,” Peterson said. “No matter what.”
Peterson finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs, a walk, two RBIs, a double and a sac fly.
“He was a big part of us getting two runs in the first inning,” Bassham said. “As soon as you get a little bit of breath, everybody sort of feels that and it just becomes a little easier, the ball becomes a little better, but (Peterson) was absolutely on fire today.”
Peterson also swiped two bags.
“He hustles his butt off over there at first base and at the plate, he just looks super comfortable and calm, catching the ball right where he should have, chasing good pitches, and the effect was positive for him today,” Bassham said. “He’s not a prototypical leadoff guy, but he’s just gonna hopefully hit lasers around the yard and be on base.”
Along with Peterson, Kennedy and Jones each had three hits, and Jones added four RBIs. Two of those four RBIs came in the fifth inning on a two-run homer.
In a 1-1 count, Jones got a heater up and in and drove it over the left field wall for the Wolves 12th and 13th runs of the game.
“He’s a very large, strong young man,” Bassham said of Jones. “He didn’t hit it with his arms; he hit it with his body. He let it get to him and he hit it with leverage and had the right spin on it.”
The Wolves would go on to score two more runs in the inning, and the game came to an early run-rule conclusion after the bottom of the fifth.
It’s the second straight win for the Wolves, and it sets them back on the right track after a tough stretch of games. Shasta won four of its first five before losing five straight.
The Wolves will have a week off before facing West Valley at 10 a.m. on April 7 in their pursuit of a third straight victory.
While Bassham did say that with the history behind this rivalry, “there’s always a little more at stake,” when Shasta and Enterprise face off. However, “There’s not a single one that’s more important than another,” Bassham said. “We always just want to play well, and we don’t want to fall into that trap of pressing too hard. Our mantra is ‘each game is as important as any other game,’ so if we do make it to a playoff game or section championship, we have the right flow state of mind.”
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: Shasta baseball takes down Enterprise, wins season series
Reporting by Brett Abrams, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
