Throughout the 2024 season, one term had been consistently echoed by members of the Modesto Nuts organization: back-to-back.

On Wednesday night under the lights of John Thurman Field, they accomplished the feat of winning consecutive titles for the first time in their 77-year history as a professional ballclub after defeating the Lake Elsinore Storm 2-1 in the decisive third game of the California League Championship Series.

In their history, Modesto has now hoisted the championship banner 11 times since becoming a professional team in 1946 when they joined the California League as an independent club. The 2024 title is their third as the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

“It feels amazing,” said second-year manager Zach Vincej. “There are a lot of competitors in our group. They fought all the way until the end. Our backs were against the wall in the second half, we didn’t play our greatest baseball, but the guys had heart and they competed all the way through. They executed when they needed to. Our pitching was amazing, our defense was amazing, we had some timely hits in the playoffs to give us a chance, and they just fed off each other. It’s cool to see them come together as a group to get the job done.”

Game 3 was a pitching duel, with each club going deep into their bullpens. But as Vincej said, his players delivered timely hits.

Wednesday night’s hero was catcher Josh Caron. A fourth-round pick in this year’s MLB Draft out of the University of Nebraska that has since been ranked the No. 25 prospect in the Seattle farm system by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning of a 1-1 ballgame after Milkar Perez worked a bases-loaded walk. Caron proceeded to make solid contact with a Xavier Ruiz fastball down and away in the zone, hitting a grounder to shallow left-field to give the Nuts a lead they would never relinquish.

“I just needed to stick to my plan up there. The moment got pretty big there, so I didn’t want it to get too big, and just stuck to my approach and made it happen,” Caron said of his game-winning RBI single.

Caron had been swinging a hot bat coming into Wednesday. In the Nuts’ 10-8 win in Game 1 in Lake Elsinore, he reached base four times in five plate appearances with a pair of hits and walks. In Tuesday’s 9-2 loss at John Thurman Field, he added another two hits, including a solo shot in the eighth inning.

“Josh has been huge for us,” Vincej said of Caron, who was only promoted from the Arizona Complex League on Aug. 12. “It’s been awesome to see him progress, especially behind the plate. He handled the pitching staff like a champ today, and that was  a huge, huge part of our win. Pitching was unbelievable today.”

Pedro Da Costa Lemos, a right-handed native of Brazil, allowed the lone Storm run of the game in the second inning via a Sean Barnett sac-fly. After his two innings of work, relievers Brock Moore, Trevor Long, Jack White Brayan Perez and Hunter Cranton struck out a combined 11 batters in seven three-hit innings.

The 11th and final strikeout came on the final play of the game, when Cranton blew a high fastball by Braedon Karpathios. And the celebration was on.

After the team rushed the field and celebrated, Cranton took a step back and shook his head as he stared out at the crowd, saying “This is freaking amazing,” under his breath.

One player who interacted with plenty of fans in the postgame celebration (as he has all year long) was Curtis Washington Jr., the outfielder selected in the 19th round by the Mariners in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Purdue who has spent parts of the last two seasons in Modesto.

“It feels wonderful,” Washington said. “God is good for putting us into this position. I don’t think anybody thought we were going to make it this far, better yet win it. But it shows what hard work does and trusting in your teammates do, and hey, we came out on top.”

The Nuts punched their postseason tickets in June by winning the North Division title with a 41-23 record with largely the same roster they fielded when they won it all a year ago. In the second half, Top 100 prospects Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo were all promoted to High-A Everett, while Jonny Farmelo missed most of the year with an ACL tear. They finished the regular season with a 73-57 overall record.

“This means a lot,” Washington continued. “I’ve spent both of my years professionally in Modesto, so I’ve gotten a chance to make relationships with many of the fans, workers, coaching staff, everybody. Two years, to do this back-to-back means everything to me.”

Vincej also acknowledged the emotions that local fans experienced for most of the season with the uncertainty surrounding the future of the club in Modesto as the city and the Seattle Mariners continue to negotiate a long-term lease extension for the John Thurman Field property. 

On July 12, the Modesto Nuts, Seattle Mariners (who own the team) and the City of Modesto (who own the John Thurman Field stadium and surrounding property) released a joint statement announcing that the 2024 season would be the last for the team in the city after the sides couldn’t come to a long-term lease extension. The big hiccup was that Major League Baseball was requiring renovations of roughly $32,054,611 to get the facility up to professional standards, per a memo provided to the Modesto City Council. Those renovations included larger clubhouses for both teams with improved lockers; nutrition, food-prep and dining areas for home and visiting teams; better training facilities for players including weight rooms and multiple pitching and batting tunnels; separate spaces for female staffers and brighter stadium lights. 

The City of Modesto and the Mariners have since agreed to a short-term lease to keep the Nuts in Modesto while buying more time for the two parties to negotiate a deal that will keep the historic organization in Modesto for years to come.

“These fans have been so great to us,” Vincej said. “The support that they’ve shown here has been truly incredible. I can’t thank them enough for coming out, showing their support on a daily basis, and I’m so glad we’re coming back for another year.”