Benicia High’s baseball and softball programs combined to have five athletes sign letters of intent Wednesday to play college athletics after graduation.

Baseball seniors Cole Eigenhuis and Ethan Payne, and senior softball players McKenna Gregory, Olivia Mackey and Elizabeth Sweeney all sat in a row inside the Benicia gym and signed their respective letters of intent in front of teammates, coaches, family and friends.

“It takes a lot to be a student-athlete and get to sign a letter of intent,” said proud Benicia athletic director Craig Holden, noting that all five athletes have a 3.00 grade-point average or higher. “It’s an exciting time. And they’ve succeeded in the classroom and the community as well as on the field.”

“It’s a first for our softball program to have three players sign on the same day,” said varsity softball coach Kristin Grubbs. “I couldn’t be more proud of them for the hard work and dedication they have to this sport. They’re all great kids and I wish them all the best.”

Cole Eigenhuis

Pitcher

University of Washington

Eigenhuis was the ace of a Benicia pitching staff that went 19-12 overall last season and won the Solano County Athletic Conference championship and the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship. Eigenhuis, who at 6-foot-8 is a towering presence on the mound, went 7-1 with a 1.60 earned-run average and 74 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched on his way to SCAC Pitcher of the Year honors.

“The upside on him is tremendous,” said Jim Bowles, who recently retired after managing the Panthers for 16 seasons. “He’s a competitor and is the whole package. He has really good mechanics for a young pitcher but still has some things he can work on to get more velocity.”

“It feels good now that it’s official,” Eigenhuis said. “I still have a lot to do. A lot of people get offers and take it for granted and don’t get any better. I wanna continue to get better every day.”

The Washington Huskies compete in the Pacific 12 Conference and went 33-23 overall last spring. The Huskies finished second in the Pac-12 and made it to the NCAA Division I Tournament.

“Washington is definitely one of the top programs in the country and Cole is considered one of the top recruits,” Bowles said. “And he has a frame where he can still put on muscle and get even stronger.”

“I love the Pacific Northwest,” said Eigenhuis, who verbally agreed last July to play for the Huskies.

Ethan Payne

Catcher

Utah Valley

Payne was the glue behind the plate that held a young Benicia pitching staff together last season. The All-SCAC Honorable Mention hit .333 as a junior and was second on the team in runs scored.

“Ethan does a great job of handling pitching staffs,” Bowles said. “He’s a smart kid who works really well with pitchers.”

“(Utah Valley) likes my defense and how flexible I am behind the plate,” Payne said. “On offense they like that I’m a free-swinger who hits the ball hard.”

Utah Valley went 37-23 overall last year and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Wolverines can use a versatile catcher with a 3.83 GPA.

“I have some family up there and it’s a really competitive baseball school,” Payne said. “I just felt it was the best choice for me. It’s really surreal. I’m just grateful to the people in my life who helped me get to this point.”

McKenna Gregory

Pitcher

Michigan State

Gregory was First Team All-SCAC last season and pitched the Lady Panthers to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game. The big right-hander went 19-7 overall with a 1.37 ERA and struck out 173 batters in 143 1/3 innings.

“She has size and a good work ethic and is very versatile,” Grubbs said. “She has command of her pitches, she can hit and she can play other positions.”

Gregory, who currently sports a 3.97 GPA, verbally committed to Michigan State as a sophomore and had been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to make it official.

“I’ve been waiting a while,” Gregory said. “It’s relieving and I think I made the right decision. I considered each school’s academics and athletics and Michigan State was the best.”

The Spartans can use a power pitcher like Gregory after going only 27-28 overall last season, including 8-16 in the Big 10.

“They like my pitching and that I can play anywhere in the field,” said Gregory, who was named to the State Underclassmen First Team as a multi-purpose softball player by Cal-Hi Sports last season. “And they like my batting, too, so that was a big part of it.”

Olivia Mackey

Outfielder

Southern Oregon

Mackey will join her older sister, Victoria, at Southern Oregon University, a team that last spring reached the NAIA playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The younger Mackey was a steady presence in the outfield for the Lady Panthers last season and hit .347 with 25 runs.

“All the work I did finally paid off,” Mackey said. “It’s finally happening and it’s really exciting.”

Victoria had an outstanding freshman season with the Raiders last spring and Olivia is looking forward to being reunited with her sister.

“It kinda just worked out that way,” Olivia said. “I went up there to visit her one time and I really enjoyed it. I looked more into their softball program and their academics and it really seemed like a right fit for me.”

Elizabeth Sweeney

Outfielder

Humboldt State

Sweeney was a big part of Benicia’s playoff run last season and hit .325 with 21 runs and 14 RBIs. She joins a Humboldt State team that went 54-8-1 last season and won West Region and California Collegiate Athletic Association titles.

“I’m really excited,” Sweeney said. “All of my friends are talking about how stressed they are with college applications and this is a big weight lifted off my shoulders. It may seem like an ending but it’s really the beginning of another journey.

“I really liked the atmosphere on the Humboldt softball team. They were very friendly. And I like cold weather and it was always cold.”

All five athletes still have work to do for the Panthers, namely winning SCAC and Section championships next spring.

“I’m sad that we took second last year and I hope we win the Section championship this year,” Sweeney said.

“I have senioritis but you just have to push yourself through it,” Mackey said. “There’s still a league championship and Section champion to play for.”

“I can’t wait for the high school season,” Eigenhuis said. “We want to go back-to-back and I think we have the team to do it.”

“Hopefully this relieves some of the stress for the spring season and they can just go out there and play and have a great time,” Grubbs said.