EG Sweeps Series With Laguna Creek, Now It's Davis

Elk Grove took the third and final game of its baseball series with Laguna Creek Monday, 13-2 in six innings, sweeping the season series.

EGHS pitcher Jordan Koch

Jordan Koch, who came on in relief in the first inning of Elk Grove starter Thomas Wisdom, picked up the win by pitching four and 1/3 innings.

"We could have come out complacent, looking forward to a big series (against Davis that starts Wednesday)," Elk Grove head coach Jeff Carlson said. "You don't want to do that. Laguna is having a good year and (Josh Lex) has done a good job over here. Today we saw a pretty good arm (in Malik Pruitt) on the mound. It was nice to see our guys compete and make the adjustment to him, especially the second and third time around."

The Cardinals also committed five errors to let Elk Grove dominate the game. Dom Nunez had a two-run triple in the second inning. Rowdy Tellez cleared the bases with a three-RBI double in the 5th inning. He added another RBI on a single in the sixth.

Elk Grove is now 9-2 in the league, 15-6 overall, and will travel to Davis Wednesday to face the first-place Blue Devils. Those two teams play again Friday at EGHS.

One concern Carlson has with just over a week remaining in the regular season is that a couple of his main players are hurt.

"Andrew Horne wasn't here today. He's got the flu," Carlson said. "Dom has a shoulder issue going on so we're going to hold him out the next two weeks and keep him from throwing. He'll (bat as the designated hitter)."

The Herd concludes the year next Monday and Wednesday with games against Grant. The Sac-Joaquin Section's North Division playoffs begin Monday, May 14.

Locals Shine At Meet of Champions

Esther Higgwe and her teammates on the Monterey Trail track and field team were the stars of Saturday's Meet of Champions, the largest track and field event thus far this spring. The event is usually at Hughes Stadium, but because of the construction of a new track and football field there, it was moved to American River College.

Higgwe won both the girls' 100 and 200 meters. She and the Mustangs' relay team also took first place in the 4x100 meters and the 4x400 meters.

Here are the Elk Grove-area competitors who finished in the top ten Saturday:

Friday's Stuff/ CRC Wins Big 8

First, a congratulations to Cosumnes River College and coach Tony Bloomfield as the Hawks have won the Big 8 championship in baseball. They defeated Santa Rosa CC, 4-0, in the first game of a twin bill yesterday. Former Pleasant Grove infielder Garrett Heisinger has a key RBI double to lead CRC.

The Hawks played the game at American River College and have had to play all home games at other sites because a new sports facility is under construction on the CRC campus. I have a story with Bloomfield and the CRC team coming out in next Tuesday's Citizen ...

Did you see the story about the Sierra Foothill League being moved this next school year to Division I? It's about time, really. Those schools (Granite Bay, Rocklin, Roseville, Nevada Union, etc.) are just as large in enrollment as the Elk Grove schools and have dominated Division II the past few years.

Quinnine Signs With Xavier (La.) Univ.

This news release came from Xavier University of Louisiana:

NEW ORLEANS — Andraquay Quinnine of Elk Grove, Calif., has signed a women's basketball scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana. She averaged 13.9 points per game and made 108 3-pointers during the past two seasons.      Quinnine, a 5-foot-9 guard, is the Gold Nuggets' second signee for 2012-13. Guard Whitney Gathright of New Orleans signed a week ago.      Quinnine averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 29 games for Consumes River College of Sacramento, Calif., this past season and was a California Community College Athletic Association second-team selection in the northern half of the state. Quinnine scored 40 points, including six 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free throws, in the Hawks' 72-64 victory at Diablo Valley on Feb. 7.

     As a freshman at Consumnes River in 2010-11, Quinnine averaged 13.3 points in 26 games. In two seasons at the junior college she made 35.8 percent of her 3-pointers (108-of-302) and 80.7 percent of her free throws (130-of-161).
     Quinnine is a 2010 graduate of Franklin High School in Elk Grove and helped the Wildcats reach the semifinals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Division I section playoffs each of her final two seasons.
     Quinnine will be a junior on the Nuggets' roster next season.
     Xavier was 26-9 in 2011-12, won Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and, for the second consecutive year, reached the second round of the NAIA Division I National Championship. The GCAC Tournament title was the Nuggets' third in a row.

Carmazzi Resigns At Jesuit, Joins CB

Dan Carmazzi, the dean of high school football coaches who has been the head man at Jesuit for 31 years, resigned Wednesday and will become the athletic director of Christian Brothers, the school he graduated from in 1971.

In a prepared release, Carmazi said : “I would like to thank Lorcan Barnes and Mary Hesser for extending to me the opportunity to return to Christian Brothers. I will always have tremendous respect for, and be grateful to, the Jesuit High School community for educating my sons and giving me the opportunity to teach and coach these past 35 years.  But, a part of me has always wanted to return to Christian Brothers.  Christian Brothers provided me with an excellent education and athletic experience under the guidance of  such outstanding teacher coaches as  Dick Sperbeck, Ron Limeberger, Jack Witry, Dave Hoskins, Mel Fontes, John Zupan and Ralph Villanueva. This is a good time for me personally to make this transition and affords me the opportunity to give back to the school.”


He'll finish out this school year at Jesuit.

Wednesday's Scoreboard

Baseball:

Franklin 9, Elk Grove 7 (6 inns.) - The Wildcats, down 6-1, scored eight runs off Herd starter Rowdy Tellez to win a rain-shortened game. Ryan Sarginson had three RBI's. Tyler Blake had a key RBI single and Connor Adams a big double in a five-run fourth inning. Adams picked up the win in relief. Josh Pigg looked good pitching the final two innings for Franklin. Plus, the Wildcats survived two really bad calls by umpires, one was one of the worse missed-calls I've ever seen.

What was interesting about this game was that the umpires allowed the game to go into the seventh inning, despite a steady rain. Elk Grove scored three runs to take the lead, 10-9, had runners on second and third with two outs, then the umpires called the game.

The coaches, umpires and fans all got emotionally into a discussion about what was going to happen. EG fans wanted the game to continue or resume the next day at the same place of the game. Franklin fans said it was a rain-shortened game and the score should revert to the end of the previous inning.

EGUSD athletic director Jim Smrekar phoned me the next day to say NHSA rule 3.6 reads that in the case of an official game (4 1/2 innings played) if the game is stopped in the middle of an inning by umpires due to the weather the final score shall be taken from the end of the previous full inning.

The loss by EG put them a game behind Davis in the DVC. Franklin is a game behind the Herd in third place.

Davis 10, Laguna Creek 5 - Trask gets the win for the Blue Devils. Malik Pruitt got an RBI double for the Cardinals.

Monterey Trail 1, Grant 0 - Congrats to the Mustangs on their first DVC win of the year.

Softball:

Pleasant Grove 6, Ponderosa 4 - This is big because the win puts the Eagles in a tie with the Bruins for first place in the DRL. Kaylen Minnatee had a home run for PG.

Golf:

PLEASANT GROVE 214, SHELDON 253

9 holes at Rancho Murieta,  par 36

Low scorers: Kelly, PG, 41; Grenz, PG, 41; Thompson, S, 46.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/26/4443653/wednesdays-high-school-scoreboard.html#storylink=cpy

Dan Carmazzi, Jesuit's football coach since the 80's, has resigned. He'll be the AD at Christian Brothers. More later.

Tuesday Night Stuff

• Franklin boys volleyball defeated Elk Grove tonight in three games.  Set scores were 25-15, 25-17, 25-14.  Kameron Tinsley & Kyle Belvins both had 12 kills for the Wildcats. ...
• Josh Crabtree, Sheldon's football coach, announced today he will be taking one year off from his coaching duties. He wants to spend more time with his ailing father. Herbie Berry, his offensive coordinator, will take over during Crabtree's one year absence. ..
• I just finished the "Five Thoughts" column for the Citizen this evening. It's my first attempt at writing the weekly feature. Read it online at EGCitizen.Com Thursday afternoon. ....
• Sheldon's softball team defeated Oak Ridge, 4-0, as Alexis Cooper tossed a one-hitter.  The Huskies need to win out the rest of the year for any hope at a repeat Delta River League championship
• I have never heard of ESPN awarding anything like an "Elite Athlete" honor, but this email came in today:  As the youngest female sprinter and jumper on the (Franklin) Varsity team, Jorden E. O’Neal is determined to make it to the Olympics in the years to come. At barely fourteen years of age, she jumped an astounding 18-02.25 in the women's long jump at the UC Berkeley’s All Comers Meet on February 18. Since the start of the high school track season in late February, she has competed in multiple events including the 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 200 relay, the Sprint medley, the 4 x 400 relay, 100 meters, and 200 meters. Her recent long jump of 17.15 at the Thunder Invitational on April 14^th in Rocklin placed her on the ESPN HS, Top 100 US Elite Athletes list.

• On April 28, Jorden will compete in the girl’s varsity long jump and the girl’s 4 x 100 meter relay at Sacramento’s Meet of Champions.

Good Hitting, Franklin Mistakes Help Herd

The wind was blowing out at Wackman Field at Elk Grove High School Monday and it might have made a bit of a difference with balls hit up in the air, but Franklin's defense made anything in the outfield an adventure as the Herd ran away with a comfortable 10-4 win.

Rowdy Tellez was three-for-three but two balls really should have been caught. One was a major league high popup in the infield that plopped to the ground between three Wildcat infielders. In the first inning, Tellez was gifted an RBI double when a high fly to deep center ended up five feet behind the Franklin center fielder who thought he had it.

In the third inning Matt Aday had a line-drive single that could have been caught, but it bounced over the outfielder's head and rolled to the fence for a two-base error. Andrew Horne scored on that play. Cameron Childs stroked a double to left to score Aday for a 6-1 lead.

Franklin starter Brandon Keup had control problems that hurt him in the second inning. He walked two and hit one batter only to then give up a bases-clearing triple to Dom Nunez.

Another outfield gaffe on Jacob Heingardner's line drive to center in the fifth inning, that put the junior DH on third, gave the Herd another run when Childs hit another RBI single.

"I'm not worried. It was just one of those days," Franklin head coach Bryan Kilby said of his team's lackluster performance. The Wildcats had three errors but at least four other balls should have been caught that led to E.G. runs.

David Smith picked up the win for the Herd pitching six innings. He allowed three runs on two hits. The two clubs play again Wednesday at Franklin.

Weekend Stuff

Here’s how our local minor leaguers are fairing roughly two weeks into the baseball season:

Dwight Childs (Elk Grove H.S./Arizona Univ.) - He’s catching for the Carolina Mudcats in the Advanced-A Carolina League. Childs plays roughly every third game, batting .200 with two home runs in five games.

Casey Weathers

Casey Weathers (Laguna Creek H.S./Vanderbilt Univ.) – He’s a late inning reliever for the Tennesee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League. Weathers has a 1-0 record with a 4.15 ERA in four games for the Chicago Cubs’ affiliate. 

David Freitas (Elk Grove H.S./Univ. of Hawaii) – Off to a hot start for the Potomac Nationals of the Advanced-A Carolina League. The catcher is batting .324 with two home runs and eight RBI’s in 11 games.

Cory Vaughn (Jesuit H.S./San Diego State) – He’s playing for the Mets’ Advanced-A affiliate in St. Lucie, Fla. The Elk Grove resident is batting .302 with a home run in the Mets’ first 12 games in the Florida State League.

Cory Vaughn

Raymond Hernandez (Elk Grove H.S./Fullerton St.) – He’s made the jump to the Advanced-A California League in just his second season of pro ball. In three appearances and one start for the Visalia Rawhide, Hernandez is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA.

Kyle Castro (Pleasant Grove H.S.) – He’s on the roster of the Texas Rangers’ Rookie League team in Arizona.

Brady Dragmire (Bradshaw Christian H.S.) – Playing with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Rookie League team in the Gulf Coast League.

Kyle Devore (Pleasant Grove H.S./Sacramento City College) – He’s playing for the Rangers’ Advanced-A club in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Brandon Pinckney (Elk Grove H.S.) – Will be playing for the Worchester (Mass.) Tornadoes of the Can-Am Independent League. His season doesn’t start until mid-May.

Brad Kilby (Laguna Creek H.S./San Jose State) – Still working out and hoping for a mid-May return to pro baseball. He’s a free agent after spending five seasons in the Oakland A’s organization. In the meantime, he’s been the pitching coach at Franklin High School.  ….

Not to forget about the Elk Grove’s only major leaguer, Arizona pitcher David Hernandez; He’s made eight appearances thus far, all in late-inning relief and has a 0-1 record with a 3.38 ERA. He’s struck out 11 batters in 7 1/3 innings and has walked only two. Saturday in an inning of relief against Atlanta he struck out the side.  …

The nation’s top-ranked college softball team, Cal, won two of three games this past weekend at Oregon. The Ducks, ranked 13^th in the country, handed the Bears only its third loss of the season, 1-0, on Saturday. The Bears, now 42-3 overall and 13-2 in the Pac-12, bounced back Sunday with a 10-0 win over Oregon.

Sheldon’s sister pair of Jolene and Danielle Henderson each had two RBI’s Sunday. Jolene threw a three-hitter and struck out six. She raised her pitching record to 24-1 and has a 1.15 ERA. This weekend they host UCLA and former Pleasant Grove nemesis Ally Carda in a three-game series beginning Friday. …

PG Shutouts Sheldon, 4-0

Three Sheldon errors, all in the 7th inning, allowed Pleasant Grove to score four times to break open a scoreless dual and take a 4-0 Delta River League win.

Friday's loss combined with Tuesday's 7-0 defeat at Ponderosa has dropped the Lady Huskies to 3-2 in the DRL, tied with the Lady Eagles for second place.

It also marked the first time in more than eight years that Sheldon has lost two league games in a row.

The first six innings was a pitching dual pitting senior Alexis Cooper of Sheldon against Celina Matthias of Pleasant Grove. Matthias proved to have the edge by striking out seven and allowed four hits.

Thursday's Scoreboard

Baseball:

Great game at P.G. with the Eagles defeating Oak Ridge, 4-3 to win the season series, 2-1.

Matt Stafford with the distance on the mound and added a double. Home Runs by JQ Folena and Zack Stilwell.

Softball:

Monterey Trail 11, Laguna Creek 4
St. Francis 4, Ponderosa 1 (first league loss for the Bruins)
Davis 12, Franklin 8
Elk Grove 18, Grant 1

**Today I am covering the Pleasant Grove/Sheldon game. Watch for my tweets.

Wednesday's Scoreboard

Let me say that I suffered through the Elk Grove/Monterey Trail baseball game yesterday, which the Herd won easily, 10-0 in five innings. MT's Jordan Vartanian can play for any Division I team in the area, but the rest of the team frankly lacks overall in basic baseball skills.

I love baseball. That's why it bothers me to watch high school teams with players that lack basic fundamental skills. Many Mustang players just plain looked like this is their first year of baseball when compared to the finely-honed skills of a Dom Nunez, Trey Hicks or Derek Hill.

Does the City of Elk Grove, known for its fine baseball teams, really lack coaches that know what they are doing at the lower levels? Or do all the kids that take baseball seriously attend Elk Grove, Franklin, Laguna Creek, Sheldon, Pleasant Grove and Bradshaw Christian?

Think about that one ...

Here's the scores:

Baseball:

Elk Grove 10, Monterey Trail 0 - A kid who deserves more playing time, Trey Hicks, got a bases-loaded double. He plays at a higher speed than most kids. And, may I add that Dom Nunez played catcher, showing that he could play any position on the field and play it really well. In one at-bat he was thrown a curveball at chest level and he put it on a one-bounce to the right centerfield fence. I am campaigning for him to be the area player of the year.

Franklin 6, Laguna Creek 5 (9) - If Laguna can steal the rematch on Friday, then get a win over Elk Grove or Davis, they just might threaten to get into the playoffs. Good to see Kyle VonRuden, who has been injured, pitch a couple innings for Franklin.

Davis 15, Grant 1 (5)

Softball:

(here's a shocker) Ponderosa 9, Sheldon 0 - Paris Hallums threw a four-hitter at the Lady Huskies. I've got to make certain this isn't a mis-print.....No it isn't.

Hallums is the real deal, 6-0, four complete-game shutouts this season and the Lady Bruins are atop the DRL with a 4-0 record.

Pleasant Grove 12, Folsom 2 - The Eagles play at Sheldon Friday. I'm covering that one for the Citizen.

Tuesday Baseball and Pope Update

Lots of games Tuesday ....

Baseball:

Davis 5, Elk Grove 4 ... The Herd (4-1 DVC) scored a pair in the seventh but a fluke double play spoiled Elk Grove's comeback attempt. Ben Eckels can throw bee bees (for Davis, also 4-1).

Pleasant Grove 7, Oak Ridge 6 ... as sad as losing Monday to the Trojans was to him, Rob Rinaldi sounded upbeat in talking about winning this one in El Dorado Hills. Nico Toni and Michael Yanez each had three hits and PG (4-1 DRL) scored four times in the seventh inning to pull this one out.

Franklin 4, Monterey Trail 1 ... This is two wins in a row for the Wildcats (3-2 DVC).

Waiting word on Ponderosa/Sheldon and Laguna Creek/Grant.

Another note:
I talked today to Malik Pope, the outstanding sophomore basketball player who last week suddenly left Luther Burbank and enrolled at Laguna Creek High School. I had heard from two sources at the time, including his older brother, that the family moved to Elk Grove so that he could enroll at Sheldon.

He didn't say why he ended up enrolling at Laguna instead of Sheldon. Rather I asked if he was looking forward to playing next season for the Cardinals. He said, "I didn't want to leave (Burbank). I wanted to stay. We moved."

He was in a hurry at the time and couldn't talk long, but I wished him the best at Laguna Creek and he said he was looking forward to playing for coach Paul Casey.

Monday's Scoreboard

Baseball:


Elk Grove 7, Grant 1 - Derek Hill went three-for-four with a triple. Robert Ortega stroked a pair of doubles in backing Craig Dowell, the winning pitcher. The Herd is now in first place by itself in the DVC.


Franklin 7, Davis 3 - A much-needed win for the Wildcats as Brandon Keup picked up the win. Hank LoForte got a pair of hits for Franklin.


Sheldon 2, Ponderosa 0 - Jake Lorigan tossed a two-hit shutout. First DRL win for the Huskies.

Pleasant Grove coach Rob Rinaldi and 2nd baseman
Bronson Grubbs (#4)

Oak Ridge 5, Pleasant Grove 4 - (see story below) 


Golf:


Delta Valley Conference Tournament

18 holes at Wildhawk, par 72

Teams: Davis 399, Elk Grove 408, Franklin 426, Monterey Trail 454, Grant 585.

Individual results: Reede, MT, 72; Tam, F, 74; Klein, D, 75; Levin, EG, 75; Espino, D, 78.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/17/4419481/mondays-college-community-college.html#storylink=cpy

Oak Ridge Holds On, Beats P.G., 5-4

Oak Ridge relief pitcher Jason Ross battled out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Trojans to a 5-4 Delta River League win over Pleasant Grove Monday.

The loss was the Eagles' first league defeat this season after sweeping three games from Sheldon last week. Oak Ridge is now 2-2 in the DRL. The two teams play again Tuesday in El Dorado Hills.


The Trojans got three runs off Eagle ace Zack Stilwell (4-1) in the fourth inning. Oak Ridge loaded the bases with one out. After Stilwell struck out Cody Uharriet, Alex Fitchett dribbled an slow roller that shortstop JQ Folena couldn't make a play on. Jason Ross followed with a line drive off Folena's outstretched mitt and two more runs scored.


Eagle bats were frustrated by Trojan sophomore pitcher Austin Root for six innings, but threatened to win the game in the final frame. Josh Adams led off with a single and was sent to third on Matt Stafford's hit down the right field line. After Stilwell walked to load the bases, Nico Toni knocked in Adams on a ground ball out to narrow the margin to 5-4, Oak Ridge.


Coach Rob Rinaldi thought about squeezing in Stafford from third with one out and Austin Friello.


"Those guys can't bunt," Rinaldi said of his next two batters. So, Ross struck out Friello and Bronson Grubbs to end the game.


In giving up five hits to Pleasant Grove, Root picked up his fourth win of the year, pitching six innings, striking out three and walking none. That was his third complete game win.


Stilwell struck out eight batters, but walked two, gave up nine hits and two earned runs.


After Tuesday game, the two clubs play for a third and final time this season Thursday at Pleasant Grove.

Sport Stacking -A Cup Stacking Sport Of Speed

As a kid we all loved playing with blocks. We’d make a big stack of them, just to knock them all down. We did the same thing with drinking cups, usually making a tall pyramid with the cup facing downward. The slightest wind and then all came crashing down.

This kids’ pastime, believe or not, has now progressed into a sport, one that recently gained sanction by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). In fact, sport stacking, as it is now called, will be a part of the AAU’s Junior Olympics in Houston, Texas, this July. 

Locally, a team of 21 sport stacking competitors between the ages of six and 16 are practicing about four times a week to compete in the event this summer.

Kerry Anderson, a retired school teacher at John Ehrhardt Elementary in Elk Grove, is an adult coaching this team, which goes by the moniker, “Stack It – Sacramento.”

PG Sweeps Sheldon, Has DRL Lead

Week one of baseball in the Delta River League is over and Pleasant Grove is in first place with a 3-0 mark. Saturday, the Eagles finished a three-game sweep of Sheldon by defeating the Huskies, 4-2. Matt Stafford went the distance on the mound, throwing a five-hitter. Brandon Langan took the loss for Sheldon.

At the plate, Pleasant Grove was led by Zack Stilwell who was two-for-three.

After starting the season 8-0, Sheldon has now lost five in a row. They sit at the bottom of the DRL with a 0-3 record.  This week they'll have an opportunity to bounce back with a three-game set against Ponderosa Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Pleasant Grove will face Oak Ridge, who went 1-2 this past week against Jesuit, in a three-game set.

In the Delta Valley Conference, Elk Grove has first place with a 3-0 mark. They play Grant in a home game Monday, then hosts Davis Tuesday in a make-up of Friday's rainout. The Blue Devils are also 3-0 in the DVC.

Franklin, now 1-2 in conference play, will be at Davis Monday in a very important game for the Wildcats.

Hurdler Martinez Out For Season

Nick Martinez, running in SJS D-1 Meet last season

A sad note out of the Elk Grove High School track and field team. Their outstanding hurdler Nick Martinez will have surgery in June on a torn ACL in his right knee. That according to assistant track coach Dallas Broussard. He injured the knee about a month ago. 

Last season Martinez placed third in the 300 meter hurdles at the California High School Track and Field Championships. He was the Sac-Joaquin Section champion in that event, plus the 110 meter hurdles.

Martinez has been accepted at Sacramento State and may run track for the Hornets next season, according to Broussard.

Malik Pope Now At Laguna Creek?

A couple days ago I reported the Burbank sophomore basketball player was transferring to Sheldon, the state Division I runner-ups. That was the story on Tuesday, when I submitted the story to the Elk Grove Citizen, based on what Pope's teammates at Burbank told me, just a few hours after Pope's mother dis-enrolled him from the Sacramento City Unified School. 


Titans' head coach Lindsey Ferrell confirmed the story, but told me at the time he didn't know for sure where Pope was going to land, but he had heard Sheldon, possibly Laguna, maybe Franklin.



The Bee's Joe Davidson wrote in his Saturday morning blog that Pope has enrolled at Laguna Creek. I haven't confirmed that, but according to older brother Remle, the family has relocated "in Laguna." Remle and brother Emmanuel, both seniors, will finish high school at Burbank.

I have two sources that have told me that Pope's mother was told by "parents of Sheldon players" he'd have better looks from college scouts if he played with the Huskies. But, if indeed they've moved into the Laguna Creek attendance area, then Pope could be eligible to play this next season for the Cardinals, despite CIF's stringent policies on athletically-motivated transfers. There would be issues with eligibility if he tried to enroll in Sheldon, even with the EGUSD open enrollment policies.

Pope, a 6-7 post who can rebound and block shots with the best of them, helped the Titans to a 21-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the Metro Conference. Ironically, Burbank was knocked out of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs by Sheldon.

Pope averaged 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game for the Titans.

Thursday's Scoreboard

Baseball:

Pleasant Grove 5, Sheldon 3 (called after five innings, rain) - Josh Adams had a key two-run double.

Boys' Volleyball:

Franklin def. Monterey Trail, 25-25, 25-20, 12-25, 25-20

Boys' Golf:

Cosumnes Oaks 244, El Dorado 255 ( 9 holes at Dry Creek)
Medalist, Penfold (CO) 41

Nelson Lands At Fullerton State

I found this item on the website of Fullerton State University:

Darius Nelson

Darius Nelson, one of the highest scoring basketball players in Northern California history, has joined the Cal State Fullerton men's program as a "walk-on" and will become eligible at the end of the Fall 2012 semester. 

Nelson completed classes this past fall at UTEP but did not play in any games. He will have 3 1/2 seasons of playing eligibility.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward was runnerup for Gatorade player of the year in California in 2011 after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds for a 24-8 Sheldon High School team in Sacramento County. He was a four-time all-league and all-state selection and ranked No. 5 in scoring in northern California history, No. 17 in the state. He scored 49 points in a state playoff game against Castro Valley and had three 50-point games as well. He ranked No. 2 in scoring in the San Joaquin Section behind his brother, DeMarcus, who played four seasons at Duke and later with the Golden State Warriors. 

Wednesday's Scoreboard

Baseball:

Delta Valley Conference -

Davis 8, Monterey Trail 1 (The Blue Devils play at Elk Grove Friday in a showdown of the two undefeated teams in the early DVC slate)
Elk Grove 6, Laguna Creek 0 (see the game story below)
Grant 8, Franklin 3 (Cameron Avila-Leeper struck out 13 Wildcats - the Pacers have some baseball talent)

Golf:

PLEASANT GROVE 209, ELK GROVE 234 (9 holes at Rancho Murieta, par 36)

Low scorers: Grenz, PG, 38; P. Kelly, PG, 39; Levin, EG, 44; Cain, EG, 45 

Today (weather permitting):

Sheldon vs. Pleasant Grove in baseball

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/12/4408018/wednesdays-high-school-scoreboard.html#storylink=cpy

Smith Throws 3-hit shutout of Laguna Creek

Junior right-hander David Smith threw a complete game three-hit shutout as the Elk Grove Thundering Herd shutout Laguna Creek, 6-0, in a Delta Valley Conference showdown Wednesday.

Smith said he felt good in throwing his first varsity complete game shutout.

"I am always confident when I step out there," Smith said. "I definitely had my curveball working well and throwing a lot of strikes with it. My command was a little better than it has been lately."

EGHS pitcher David Smith

Smith got good backup from Herd bats Wednesday. Andrew Horne and Derek Hill each had RBI singles in the third inning. Elk Grove (3-0 DVC) put icing on the cake with three runs in the sixth inning. Dom Nunez stroked a two-run double and then came home on Rowdy Tellez' triple.

Cardinal coach Josh Lex said his Laguna Creek team (0-3 DVC) just fell short.

"We hit the ball, but we weren't really working our approaches very well," he said. "But, we didn't get our timely hits."

Notes:
Elk Grove plays at home against Davis and ace pitcher Ben Eckles Friday. Laguna Creek will be at Grant. ...

Lex thinks despite the rough start by his squad there's plenty of room for his team to pull things out this season.

"It's a weird league this year," he said. "Anybody can beat anybody. We almost beat Franklin. We were ahead in that game and lost 4-3 in the 8th inning. We led Davis, 3-1, going into the fifth and then gave it to them. Look at what Grant is doing. It is an interesting league. There isn't that one team that has everybody."

"This is definitely an up-for-grabs year." ...

Laguna Creek has been able to fundraise enough money to put in a new press box behind its varsity backstop, plus do some work on the infields on both varsity and junior varsity diamond.

"When I first came here I wanted to upgrade everything and we had a couple pretty successful fundraisers and put it into (the fields)," Lex said. ...

Lex, a former minor leaguer in the Toronto organization, is a day-trader on the stock market when he's not coaching the Cardinals. He played college baseball at Oral Roberts and spent four seasons in the pros until a couple wrist injuries cut short his playing career.

Florin's Fanaika Signs With LSU

Sione Fanaika was a three year varsity football player for Florin High School from 2007 to 2009. He spent the past two seasons playing at San Mateo Junior College. In an email from Florin athletic director George Smith,  we understand Fanaika is now on his way to play football at LSU.


According to Smith, here's what Fanaika was told by Les Miles on why he should attend LSU.


"I can promise you two things if you attend LSU, you’ll graduate and you’ll win a National Championship," Miles said.


Good luck, Sione in the land of the Cajun.

Sac State Officially Signs Demps To Basketball Letter

Cody Demps scoring a TD in Section championship game

Today, Sacramento State's basketball team made it official - the Hornets 
announced its first signee of the 2012-13 recruiting class with the inking
of local product Cody Demps of Elk Grove¹s Pleasant Grove High School.
Demps will enroll as a freshman at Sacramento State in the fall of 2012.

A 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard from Elk Grove, Demps was a three-year starter
for the Eagles. A two-sport athlete at Pleasant Grove, Demps was named to
ESPN¹s Cal-Hi Sports Grid-Hoop (basketball and football) first team
all-state squad after leading the Eagles to the 2012 Sac-Joaquin Section
Div. I basketball semifinals, and quarterbacking the football team to the
section championship game.

In basketball, he was a two-time first team all-Delta River League
selection during his final two seasons, including a first team all-Metro
choice his senior year by The Sacramento Bee. During that senior season,
he averaged 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5
blocked shots per game while shooting .486 from the field, .533 from the
three-point line and .735 from the free throw line.

His other accolades include being named the 2011 Delta River League¹s
Co-Offensive Player of the Year in football after completing over 67
percent of his passes with 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Demps has Sacramento State in his bloodlines as his father, Chris, was a
defensive lineman for the Hornet football squad from 1984-86. In addition,
his high school head basketball coach (John DePonte) and assistant coach
(Bill McCoin) are both Sacramento State alumns. McCoin played basketball
for the Hornets from 1988-91.

"Cody is a versatile player who can play all three spots on the
perimeter," Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz said. "He has never
been able to focus strictly on basketball because of his football
exploits, and we feel this is one of many reasons he has a very high
upside. He has enjoyed a lot of success while competing at a high level on
both the basketball court and football field, and he is going to be a very
good player for us the next four years."

Demps will join a Sacramento State squad that returns its top five scorers
from a 2011-12 season that saw the program increase its conference win
total for the third straight season, post double figures in overall wins
for the first time since 2006-07, and record a 5-3 conference record
during the second half of league play.

Tuesday's Scoreboard/Saunders Leaving Fresno State

Baseball:

Delta River League -
Pleasant Grove 5, Sheldon 0 - Zack Stilwell fans 16 and JQ Folena has four hits in an impressive DRL opener for the Eagles.
Jesuit 1, Oak Ridge 0 - Logan James throws a complete game win for the Marauders.

Softball:


Delta River League -
Sheldon 19, Folsom 0 - It was batting practice for the Lady Huskies.
Ponderosa 3, Oak Ridge 1

Delta Valley Conference-
Elk Grove 5, Franklin 4 - The Wildcats made it tight with three in the seventh inning. Carlee Gray goes two-for-three at the plate.
Monterey Trail 15, Grant 3 - I think the Mustangs will make the playoffs for the first time ever.

Sierra Valley Conference-
Cosumnes Oaks 5, Liberty Ranch 0 - big win for the Lady Wolfpack!

Another note -
The Fresno Bee is reporting that former Pleasant Grove speedster Jalen Saunders is leaving Fresno State. The All-Western Athletic Conference wide receiver will be going into his junior year but the Bulldogs have a new head coach in Tim DeRuyter and Saunders thinks the plan to make him a slot back isn't to his liking.

There is no mention as to where Saunders may be in the fall.

Elk Grove Defeats Franklin In DVC Baseball

A bases-loaded walk to Matt Aday given up by Franklin relief pitcher Tyler Blake in the sixth inning forced in Rowdy Tellez and that was the difference as Elk Grove defeated Franklin, 5-4, in a Delta Valley Conference showdown Monday.

Earlier in the inning, Dom Nunez stretched a long single into a double, stole third base and scored on Derek Hill’s single to tie the game at four apiece.

Nunez then came on and earned the save by pitching the seventh inning after Mikey Wright threw a pair of solid innings in relief of starting pitcher Tellez for Elk Grove.

With the win Elk Grove went to 8-4 overall, 2-0 in the DVC. Franklin is 1-1 in the conference and 6-6 overall.

Locals In Pro Ball - Where Are They Playing This Season?

We've been blessed in Elk Grove with several outstanding baseball players the past few years. Many are now earning a living playing the game. I took a few minutes today to find where they are playing this season. Here's what I discovered:


Elk Grove High School alumni -
David Freitas: (Washington Nationals) Potomac Nationals of the Advanced-A Carolina League
Dwight Childs: (Cleveland Indians) Carolina Mudcats of the Advanced-A Carolina League
Raymond Hernandez (Arizona D-backs) Missoula Osprey of the Rookie Pioneer League
David Hernandez (Arizona D-backs) Late-inning reliever with the Diamondbacks


Laguna Creek High School alumni-
Casey Weathers (Chicago Cubs) Tennessee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League
Brad Kilby (free agent - still unsigned)


Pleasant Grove High School alumni-
Kyle Castro (Texas Rangers) AZL Rangers of the Arizona Rookie League
Kyle Devore (Texas Rangers) Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Advanced-A Carolina League


Bradshaw Christian High School alum -
Brady Dragmire (Toronto Blue Jays) GCL Blue Jays of the Rookie Gulf Coast League