Terra Nova senior Aiden James had such a big day Saturday in the Tigers’ 9-3 win over Santa Cruz, his manager Jared Milch dropped a big name.
James ruled both sides of the ball in the non-league victory. On the mound, he worked five innings of shutout ball to earn his first win of the year. It was his monster day at the plate, though, that had him drawing comparisons to Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani, and his dominant two-way performance in the Game 3 of the 2025 World Series.
“It really reminded me of it,” Milch said. “It was crazy. It just felt like every time he came up, something good was going to happen. He was just seeing the ball so well that day.”
James has been named Daily Journal Athlete of the Week by virtue of his offensive performance. The senior went 3 for 4 with two home runs and seven RBIs, including the first grand slam he’s ever hit, at any level, in his life. Not that he’s willing to take any Shohei Ohtani comparisons too seriously.
“I mean, I think Shohei Ohtani is so good, it’s hard to envision myself as that,” James said. “But he’s such a great ball player, he’s a great role model to look up to.”
After entering the week having just one career varsity home run to his credit, James got the power stroke going last Tuesday in the Tigers’ 4-3 win over University-SF. He went 2 for 4 with a home and two RBIs in that one, though that was just a warmup for the week’s grand finale.
It was grand, indeed, as James stepped to the plate in the second inning with the bases loaded and teed off for a booming shot to left field. Everyone in Terra Nova’s refurbished yard knew it was gone off the bat, but that didn’t stop James from tearing out of the batter’s box — just in case.
“I think I [knew it was gone],” James said. “But you never really know with home runs. It’s a new field and I only hit one home run before that. So, I didn’t want to pimp it, so I ran pretty hard off the bat. I think I knew though.”
As a junior, James logged a .274 batting average, and was known more for his pitching. The right-hander paced Terra Nova with a 6-2 record with a 1.45 ERA. While he doesn’t boast overwhelming stuff, he commands the strike zone.
The 5-11 senior struck out just one batter Saturday, but after setting the side down in order in the first, had to navigate two tough jams in back-to-back innings. Santa Cruz loaded the bases with one out not once, but twice, in each the third and fourth innings. In the third, he induced an infield fly before ending the inning on a fly out to center fielder Austin Snead. In the fourth, with the bases full of Cardinals and one out, he got a popup back to the mound for the second out before shortstop Brody Finale made a nice play charging over the middle to retire the side.
“Gutsy, gutsy performance on the mound,” Milch said. “Not overpowering stuff, but he didn’t have any walks in the game, which really allowed him to coast.”
James said he thought his day was done when he walked off the mound after the fourth. Far from it. Not only did Milch run him out for the fifth inning, he still had another home run in him, a solo shot to left field.
“I never really pictured of myself as much of a power hitter,” James said. “I’m not 6-foot-3, 200 pounds or anything like that. ... When I envision myself as a power hitter, I might get out of my comfort zone ... so I try not to get too cocky and stay humble.”
With a modest 1-1 record on the mound to start the year, James is now batting .462 with three home runs and nine RBIs through Terra Nova’s 3-1 start.
“The amount of work that kid puts in, you expect great things,” Milch said. “But that performance in that game, it was unbelievable.”
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