HAYWARD, Calif. — Opening day always has a special feeling, the gloves are popping and the bats are cracking once again. It’s the first step in a long journey that every team hopes culminates in the greatest triumph of winning a championship. Every journey has its highs and lows, and for the Walnut Creek Crawdads, their 2025 journey started with a bump in the road. 

The Crawdads are coming off an appearance in the CCL Championship and have the talent necessary to land there again. Still, with high roster turnover and players who may not have seen the field at high rates during their college season, the team is still finding its footing. 

That was evident when the Crawdads exited Chabot field Wednesday evening with a 4-2 loss to Head First Baseball’s Bercovich Honors squad. Crawdads right-handed starting pitcher Dylan McShane flashed his potential but struggled to find the strike zone consistently, putting the Crawdads in a 2-1 hole in the second inning that they were unable to fight out of.

“It was an awesome opportunity to get on the mound,” McShane said. “It’s been a while, and (I’m) just looking forward to all the opportunities I can get. I didn’t do my part today, but the only way you can go is up. (I’m) just excited for the next one.” 

McShane hasn’t pitched in game action since 2023 after redshirting at Oregon and dealing with injuries at the University of Pacific, making command issues in his return understandable. The righty has movement on his pitches and was able to showcase it when he struck out center fielder Cole Jones to start the game. 

After the strikeout is when things started to go downhill. The righty worked around a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the first, but couldn’t in the second after the free passes and line drive off his leg loaded the bases. A double play scored one, and a wild pitch scored another. McShane’s potential is clear, and he and the coaching staff know that he can be a successful pitcher going forward. 

“He has some great ability,” head coach Brant Cumming said. “He’ll be able to demonstrate that once he can command (it). He’s 6-foot-9, and it’s hard to tie all those body movements together, but once he figures that out he’s going to be very, very good because he’s gifted with a really good arm and a lot of movement to his pitches.” 

In relief of McShane, the bullpen was able to show flashes of brilliance with lefty Max Cohen, righty Noah Zirkle and lefty Bradyn Barnes twirling 7.1 innings of one earned run ball with 10 strikeouts. Command was somewhat of an issue for the bullpen as well, with five free passes given out, but it was defensive miscues that bit the Crawdads harder than any free pass. 

With two outs in the fifth inning, miscommunication between second baseman Chris Esquivel and right fielder Sam Jenkins led to a flyball falling in for a Tanner Lee double. Lee was able to score from second base after an errant throw from first baseman Kam Taylor to Zirkle, who was attempting to cover first base, gave Bercovich Honors a 4-2 lead that it held until the end of the game. 

The team is still meshing together, with most players meeting each other for the first time just a few days ago. Growing pains are expected as the team congeals and players get acclimated, but Cummings expects there to be improvement in that category. 

“Some players) haven’t played much, so they’re still trying to find their way,” Cummings said. “I think we’ll be in the right spot here in the next few days.” 

Even in a tough loss, the team can take positives away from the field. Shortstop Dylan Hillman showed range and a strong arm, the bullpen was effective and the offense recorded 10 hits. The issue for the offense was getting hits in bunches. 

The most hits the Crawdads got in a single inning was the first, where they got three. Casey Leavitt-McGee led off the game and the season with a double to left-center field on a fastball up in the zone. Leavitt-McGee didn’t start a hit parade, though; the next two Crawdads struck out before catcher Brandon Clizbe beat out a high-bouncing chopper to shortstop Kayden Shaw for a two-out single. With two on base, first baseman Kam Taylor brought Leavitt-McGee home with a single through the 3-4 hole to give the Crawdads what was at the time a 1-0 lead.

The Crawdads’ only other run of the game came in the fourth inning when center fielder Trey Johnson smacked a fastball over the right field wall for a home run. Johnson is coming off a successful freshman season at Skyline College, where he had an OPS of .954 in 41 games. If Johnson can produce at a similar level during the summer, he will become an integral part of the Crawdads’ lineup. 

“It was my second at-bat, so I kind of saw (starting right-handed pitcher Bryce Berry’s) velo, and he threw it right in my zone and I just put a good swing on it,” Johnson said. “I knew it was gone off the bat. 

It felt good, timing was good, which I was kind of surprised (by) because it had been a minute since I played a game, but it felt good. I didn’t feel like I was uncomfortable in the box.” 

The Crawdads will need to have a short memory and forget the negatives of Wednesday heading into Thursday’s matchup against the Alameda Merchants. However, there are positives to highlight as well, as the team finds its footing. It’s only opening day after all, and one loss doesn’t make the future any less bright. 

“It’s just one day,” Barnes said. “It’s opening day, we’re still getting warm. Everyone’s feeling each other out, relationships are being built. There’s nothing to be worried about. I think everyone just needs to loosen up a bit, get comfortable with each other … I think we’re going to be great.”

By Ethan Ignatovsky