Lodi baseball continues to thrive through adversity
LODI, Calif. — From having one of their fields destroyed in a fire, to COVID-19 canceling a whole season, the Lodi High School Flames have had every reason to crumble under unforeseen circumstances. But not only have they stayed together, the historic program is stronger than ever.
Despite finishing in the top three in their league over their last 10 seasons and earning three section playoff berths in that same timespan, the Flames were not always the contender they are today. A large amount of credit for this turnaround can be credited towards head coach Gregory “Hobie” Schultz.
Schultz took over the program back in 2006. It was a rocky start at first, with the Flames sporting three losing seasons in his first four years coaching. But through learning from the losses, tides changed in 2010 when the team finished the year with an 18-9-1 overall record, 12-3 league record and a section playoff appearance.
In the nine seasons after that, Lodi produced six winning record seasons. The peak of this turnaround came in 2019, when the Flames went 23-6 overall, made another playoff appearance and ranked eighth in their entire section.
Lodi was now officially on the map and ready to continue to make program history with even deeper playoff runs. However, disaster struck in September 2019 when a fire destroyed the stands, press box and other amenities at Tony Zupo Field, making it unusable. This diamond served as a home field for the Flames, as well as for other high schools and professional teams.
The devastating fire not only put a cloud of uncertainty on Lodi’s future, but hit close to home for Schultz. He worked on the field from a young age, played baseball there as a child and teen and was also coached by the man the stadium was named after.
“It does mean a lot for us to play here, not only for the history but it’s a well-maintained field,” Schultz said.
Schultz was reasonably devastated by this casualty. However, he chose to focus on the plaque of his childhood coach surviving the fire as a silver lining.
“That’s the first thing that stuck out for me, that Tony Zupo’s sign and plaque right there doesn’t look like it was touched,” he said.
A historical landmark and signature field was gone for the Flames, but they still had their on-campus field to play on and a promising season ahead.
Lodi started off their 2020 season 2-1, warming up for a big playoff push. But like the rest of the world, all activities had to come to a halt when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. What was first a pause with hopes of return turned into full-on cancellations. And with that, Lodi’s season was over before it really started.
The pandemic was, and still is, bigger than sports. Resuming normal activities is an obstacle itself in these challenging times. Yet somehow, the Lodi Flames have come back just as great as before.
In 2021, the Flames played a slightly shortened season, finishing with a 13-5 record that ended with a five-game win streak. Individual accolades included senior Fidel Ulloa winning Tri-City Athletic League MVP for his stellar year.
With the Flames proving they can battle through any adversity, and Schultz continuing to coach the program towards an upward trajectory, the sky is the limit for this Lodi team. The 2022 season is getting closer by the day and the Flames are ready to make history.
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