For the Aberdeen High School baseball team, the season couldn’t have started off any better.

Bobcats pitching allowed just one hit while 11 different Aberdeen players had a base hit in a 20-1 Myrtle Street Rivalry victory over Hoquiam in five innings on Wednesday at Olympic Stadium.

Led by shutdown pitching performances from starter Malaki Balesteri and reliever Hunter Eisele, the Bobcats allowed just one run on one hit — an RBI single by Hoquiam second baseman Logan McMinn in the first inning — while Aberdeen’s offense smacked 21 hits by 11 different players.

Aberdeen (1-0 overall) took a 2-0 lead on an error followed by an RBI single by left fielder Toby Heggie in the first inning.

After Hoquiam (0-2) scored a run in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit in half, the Bobcat bats came alive with nine runs in the third, four in the fourth and five in the fifth to put the game well into 10-run rule territory.

Meanwhile, Balesteri and Eisele were nearly unhittable on the mound against a young Grizzlies squad.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen starting pitcher Malaki Balesteri picked up the win over Hoquiam on Wednesday in Hoquiam, allowing a run on one hit with eight strikeouts in three innings pitched.

Balesteri started and allowed the one run while striking out eight to just three walks in three innings pitched.

Eisele entered in the fourth and pitched two innings of hitless baseball with four strikeouts and did not allow a walk.

Aberdeen head coach Dave Hinchen said the Bobcats did what they set out to do in the season-opener after the game — which was originally scheduled for Monday — was rained out earlier in the week.

“We just wanted to come out and execute,” he said. “We wanted to make sure our pitchers were throwing strikes, that our guys were putting the bat on the ball and that we were executing offensively and defensively. I’m pretty pleased with the way that we performed today.”

Offensively, Aberdeen was led by first baseman Trevon Nichols (4-5, 2B, 5RBI), left fielder Toby Heggie (3-5, 2 2B, 2RBI) and infielder Kyle Miller (3-4, 3B, 3R, RBI).

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen leadoff hitter Kyle Miller belts one of his three base hits during the Bobcats’ 20-1 win over Hoquiam on Wednesday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam. Aberdeen recorded 21 hits by 11 different players in the contest.

Balesteri (2-4, 3R, 2RBI), center fielder Kale Goings (2-2, 2R, RBI), right fielder Luca Pisani (2-4, 2B, 3R, 2RBI) and infielder Kenny Dawson (2-2, 2RBI) also collected two hits apiece for Aberdeen.

For a Bobcats squad that was a young up-and-coming team last season, the 2022 iteration showed much promise in its first official outing.

“We had a nice summer league season where kids got a lot of at-bats and I felt like we got a lot better. I was pretty excited about coming out here this year,” Hinchen said.”I feel like we have more moving parts and kids are older, stronger and faster. They executed tonight. We got a long way to go but I’m excited about where we are going.”

Aberdeen 209 45 — 20 21 0

Hoquiam 100 00 — 1 1 2

Aberdeen — Nichols 4-5, 2B, 5RBI; Heggie 3-5, 2 2B, 2RBI; Miller 3-4, 3B, 3R, RBI; Balesteri 2-4, 3R, 2RBI; Goings 2-2, 2R, RBI; Pisani 2-4, 2B, 3R, 2RBI; Dawson 2-2, 2RBI; Sorensen 1-3, R; Hale 1-1; Faulkner 1-2, R; Eisele 0-3, 3R. WP — Balesteri 3 IP, ER, H, 8K, 3BB.

Hoquiam — McMinn 1-2, RBI, BB; Z. Jump 0-2, R, BB. LP — Montoure 2 IP, 5R, 3ER, 5H, 2K, 4BB.