Walnut Creek with no regular season woes after clinching top spot in CCL North

50 days ago, Walnut Creek opened its CCL season with a loss at Sonoma.

50 days later, the Crawdads officially clinched the number one spot in the CCL North with a win at Sonoma.

Now 27-10 after taking down the Stompers 9-4, Walnut Creek has nothing left to worry about in the regular season.

Knowing the importance of the game heading into it, the Crawdads wasted no time. By the end of the fourth inning, they led 8-0 courtesy of four RBI walks, three RBI singles and an RBI double.

Walnut Creek took care of business on the mound as well. Starting the game, sophomore Hudson Aber threw 4.2 innings allowing just two hits while striking out four. Saturday marked his final appearance of 2026 for the Crawdads. Aber was pleased with his season that saw him finish with a 1.27 ERA while striking out 15 in 21.1 innings.

"I'm pretty happy with my summer," Aber said. "It was great getting some good experience and learning how to be in a starting rotation. I felt myself get a lot better and I was really able to develop."

With the regular season one game away from coming to a close, the Crawdads have put up impressive stats at the plate in 2026. Walnut Creek currently leads the entire CCL in extra base hits with 105, while leading the CCL North in slugging percentage with .400. The team is also second in the North division in home runs with 30 and doubles with 70.

Coaching one of the best offenses in the league, Crawdads coach Brant Cummings has personal reasons for wanting his offense to stay hot.

"I'm hoping we can continue to score because I'm greedy and I never think enough is enough," Cummings said. "It's simply because I don't know how the thing is going to end." 

With the playoffs clinched, the Crawdads can look at Saturday's victory as a great primer for what's ahead. 

Of the nine runs scored against Sonoma, six came from RBIs from three different players: junior Shane Aldridge, junior Daniel Polasek and sophomore Brandon Clizbe. Of those six runs, three came from walks.

As Saturday's biggest contributions came from bases loaded walks, Polasek hopes to keep the mindset simple for the playoffs.

"Don't overthink," Polasek said. "Keep doing what we do. We're a good team. Believe in that."

2026 being a historic season, Cummings' mind is in two places at the moment.

On one hand, he is incredibly grateful for what the 2026 season has given to the team. On the other, he's hungry for more.

"No matter what happens, I'm very proud of them, and they should be very proud of themselves," Cummings said. "But now we have a chance to go out and win this thing."

While Walnut Creek will finish its season Sunday afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. game against Menlo Park, Cummings' head is focused on what the Crawdads have to do to win once the playoffs come.

"Throw strikes, play defense, score when they give you a chance," Cummings said, fully prepared for the challenges ahead.