Templeton Youth Baseball holds first Slug Fest competition
Champions from Left to Right Minors Division Champ Will Hughes and Minors runner up Kolby Salas. Majors division runner up James Budd and Majors Champion Treyner Shults.
Event included free food, music and outfield fun for fans
– The Templeton Youth Baseball League held its first annual Slug Fest Home Run Derby on May 16 on the minors field at Templeton Middle School.
The event, held from 5 to 7 p.m., featured free hot dogs, chips and water for all attendees. Music played throughout the evening as children ran through the outfield trying to catch fly balls while the competition took place.
Players from both the minors and majors divisions participated in separate competitions. Two hitters from each team were selected by coaches to compete. In the first round, each player had 15 swings. In the second round, they had 10. The top four players from each division advanced to a final round to determine the winners.
In the minors division, the top players after two rounds were Caleb Wood, Luca DeQuattro, Will Hughes, Ritchie Garcia and Kolby Salas. Hughes, Wood, DeQuattro and Salas each hit two home runs in the first two rounds, resulting in a tie. After a tie-breaker round, Wood and DeQuattro were eliminated. Hughes and Salas advanced to a final round of three pitches each. Hughes hit two home runs to win first place, with Salas finishing second.
In the majors division, Treyner Shults hit six home runs in the first round, and James Budd followed with five, sending both to the championship round. In the second round, Everett Wood hit five home runs and Hudson Herring hit three, qualifying them for the finals as well. In the final round, Shults went five for six to take first place. Budd, a left-handed hitter, placed second with three home runs to right field.
On May 17, the first- and second-place winners from each division received championship rings during the Templeton Youth Baseball League’s closing ceremonies, held in front of hundreds of players, families and community members.
The Templeton Youth Baseball League’s mission is to bring the community together through youth baseball by acting in the best interest of children and families, and by promoting, developing and regulating amateur baseball for players age 12 and under. Registration for the 2026 season will open later this year. For more information, visit www.templetonyouthbaseball.sportngin.com.
