John Hull's Elk Grove Sports Corner

Happy Fathers' Day

2013-06-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today I remember my father, Dick Hull, who went to be with Jesus in 2011. A year ago I made a website, as my dad's last request, dedicated to my father's high school football team. In 1947, the Okmulgee Bulldogs, from a town of 30,000 people, won the Oklahoma Class A Football title, 14-6, over Frederick at a game played at Owen Field in Norman.

My dad, Dick Hull, handing his school principal the
Okla. State Championship trophy in 1947

The link to the website is at the bottom of this page.

Dad went on to Okla. St. where he met my mom, Shirley, got married and then served our country in the Air Force during Korea.

Dad taught me fishing, one of my favorite pastimes, and I still have much of his tackle and rods. I will use it again in July when I go with the family to northern Wisconsin.

Today I get to spend the day with my boys, Joel and Max, likely on the golf course where we all excel and have fun together.

Yesterday, was a day with the boys, my daughter Sylvia, her husband Jack, and my grandkids, Seth and Olivia in Mountain View. We all watched Max, now a senior in high school, and the summer version of the Elk Grove Thundering Herd baseball team. They played at two really unique baseball facilities at Bellarmine College Preparatory School and Valley Christian High School in San Jose.

It's been a great Fathers' Day weekend. Remember your dads, living or not, in some way today.

Baseball Sacramento Announces All-Capitol Team

2013-06-15T19:06:00.001-07:00

An excellent local baseball website, Baseball Sacramento.Com, has named Elk Grove's Rowdy Tellez and Herd coach Jeff Carlson as its player and coach of the year. Their "All-Capitol Team" also included Elk Grove's Dave Smith and Derek Hill, along with Franklin's Tyler Blake.

Notebook: Linehan Signs With Brewers

2013-06-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Kyle Larson continues to race where ever he can do quite good at it. Read about the latest win on the racing circuit in today's EG Citizen. ....

I have heard from both his former Sheldon baseball coach, John Misplay, along with a story in the Fresno Bee that Fresno State left-hander Tyler Linehan has decided to forego his final year of college and sign to play for the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He was taken in the ninth round.

Misplay says he's been assigned to the Helena franchise in the Pioneer League, same league where Josh Powers and Raymond Hernandez have played. ...

The College World Series begins Saturday and former EG catcher Jake Rodriguez will be leading Oregon State in its first game against Mississippi State. He was drafted in the 19th round by the Astros. Though he will wait until the end of the CWS to say anything, he's likely going to sign. ...

Nunez Set To Sign With The Rockies

2013-06-10T21:02:00.001-07:00

If there was one professional baseball organization that seemed to court Dom Nunez a little more than any of the others it was the Colorado Rockies.

The past three falls he played for the Rockies’ Area Code team, getting to know a few of their scouts and coaches. He liked Gary Wilson, the Rockies’ area scout and began to get attached to the club.

So when the Rockies phoned him last Friday on the second day of the Major League First-Year Player Draft to see if he’d be interested in foregoing college and playing professionally this summer, it was a pretty easy decision for the Elk Grove High School catcher/infielder.

Dom Nunez may ink a contract to play for the
Colorado Rockies as soon as this weekend

“I think the Rockies definitely showed the most interest,” Nunez said Monday, moments after being named the Herd’s co-MVP, along with Rowdy Tellez, at the team’s end-of-season awards night. “They were one of the only phone calls the first day of the draft.”

The Rockies will probably officially sign Nunez to a contract sometime this weekend. He wouldn’t say how much his signing bonus might be, but because he was selected in the sixth round, the 169^th player drafted overall, it could be a six-figure check Nunez will be depositing in the bank.

“I’m pretty much locked in and the deal is almost done,” Nunez said. “I’ll be flying to Denver and finish it all.”

From there Nunez, who was drafted as a third baseman, will go to the Rockies’ Spring Training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. From there, he’s just not certain what will happen.

Almost as soon as Nunez made up his mind to forego college baseball, he put a call into UCLA coach John Savage to inform him of his decision. Following his freshman year at Elk Grove, Nunez verbally committed to play for the Bruins and last fall he signed his letter-of-intent.

“He congratulated me and he was proud of me and he wished for me the best things,” Nunez said. “He said the Rockies’ organization is one of the best organizations for me and they’ll treat me good.”

One thing Nunez has been told by the Rockies is that they’d like to have him come from behind the plate where he spent much of 2013 playing for Elk Grove.

“They told me either short or second, then they said I might be catching one game a week just so I could be keeping the tools there,” he said.

At Elk Grove Nunez was always a leader with the bat all four years. This past season he hit .390 with four home runs and 37 RBI’s over 34 games. Last season he set a team record with nine triples, while hitting .429.

He said looking back on his time at Elk Grove, it was the friendship he struck up his freshman year with then-senior Jake Rodriguez that made a big difference for him.

“He took me under his wing when I was young and didn’t know anyone, was new to the school and I think his leadership qualities helped me,” Nunez said. “He’s the hardest worker I think I’ve ever met. He definitely impacted my high school career and made me the player I am today.”

Nunez hopes to be rejoined with Rodriguez very soon, perhaps as a roommate.

Rodriguez, who is wrapping up his junior season at Oregon State, was drafted in the 19^th round of the MLB Draft on Saturday and may forego his final season in Corvallis to play in the Astros organization.

“He may live with me in the off-season and he’s asked my family if he can live with us and train (in Sacramento),” Nunez said. “With me signing that would be great for us to be together.”

In a few years the two friends may be facing off against each other in a major league setting. Nunez thinks he may have a great future playing in Coors Field, the home stadium of the Rockies in Denver.

“They are an up and coming team,” he said. “I am very excited and I hope I have an opportunity to step on that field one day and put that Rockies’ jersey on.”

Rowdy Drafted - Finally

2013-06-08T16:36:00.001-07:00

Maybe the most surprising angle to this year's Major League Baseball Amateur Draft was that Elk Grove slugger Rowdy Tellez was still on the board going into the third and final day of the draft Saturday.

Baseball America had ranked the 6-5, 220-pounder as the 59^th best prospect in the draft, the third-best first baseman. MLB.Com’s draft preview ranked him the 99^th best prospect overall.

EGHS' Rowdy Tellez, drafted in the 30th round
by the Blue Jays Saturday

But, Tellez said early on in the draft he knew things couldn’t be worked out between him and any baseball club.

“I was contacted by quite a few teams, but the timing wasn’t right (to be drafted),” he said. “They didn’t have the things to offer us and as a family we decided that education was the way to go.”

Tellez has already signed a NCAA National Letter-of-Intent to play collegiately for Southern Cal.

“I’m now going to USC and help them win a couple national championships,” he said. “Getting the opportunity to play for a great program in the biggest media market and hit home runs for them is something I can look forward to.”

On its website, MLB wrote an impressive summary about Tellez prior to the draft: “Big, strong, left-handed-hitting first baseman don't come through the Draft all that often these days. Tellez fits that mold, and his ability to do damage with the bat was generating some buzz this spring.”

But, the big first baseman wasn’t selected by any club on the first two days. Finally, just past 2 p.m. local time Saturday, the Blue Jays took him in the 30^th round, the 895^th pick overall.

“That’s just another day, another game in the life of a baseball player,” Tellez said of the Blue Jays selection of him. “I am looking forward to playing three years at USC, get better and then be a first-rounder.”

Tellez says his plans for the summer are a bit up in the air, but may join some USC teammates playing in the Northwoods League for the St. Cloud franchise. Tellez’ mother is from New Hope, Minn.

His Elk Grove teammate, Dom Nunez, apparently has committed to sign with the Rockies. He told the Sacramento Bee that prior to his selection in the sixth round the Rockies phoned him.

"They gave me a figure, and I called my parents to make sure it was OK," Nunez told the Bee.

He said the inducement to sign now was good enough that he won’t head to UCLA in the fall. Nunez was also told by the Rockies he’ll play either third base or shortstop.

Nunez batted .390 for the Sac-Joaquin Section champion Herd in 2013. He had four homers, five triples, seven doubles and drove in 37 runs. He started all four years at Elk Grove. This past season he played most of his games at catcher after playing shortstop and third base much of the previous three years.

"I've grown up playing shortstop most of my life," said Nunez told the Bee. "I only played catcher this season to help my team win a section title."

“He isn't especially toolsy, but Nunez plays above his talent level, thanks to his feel for the game,” wrote the MLB Draft Central. “He has a good approach as a hitter and provides gap power but probably won't ever be much of a power hitter. He is still learning behind the plate, but is eager to improve.”

His selection in in the sixth round is the second-highest any Elk Grove player has been taken in the draft after graduation from high school. In 2011 J.D. Davis was a fifth round pick by Tampa Bay. Davis did not sign and is now playing for Fullerton State.

Linehan was 3-7 with a 5.90 ERA this year for Fresno State. At Sheldon he was a four-year starter, also playing first base for the Huskies.

“Linehan had a disappointing season at Fresno St. after moving between the rotation and the bullpen and struggling to find any consistency,” wrote MLB Draft Central. “He still has good potential, however, because of two good pitches in his fastball and curveball. His fastball sits in the low 90s and has good cutting action to it while his curveball has late, sharp downward action. If Linehan can become more consistent and add a third pitch, he could become a solid value for whatever team drafts him.”

His Bulldog teammate, Aaron Judge, a 6-7 centerfielder with great power potential, was taken in the first round Thursday by the New York Yankees.

Selected on the third day was Oregon State catcher Jake Rodriguez. He was taken by the Astros to lead off the 19^th round. He was the 557^th player overall drafted.

Following his high school days at Elk Grove in 2010 Rodriguez was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 11^th round, but turned down the offer to go to college.

Ore. State's Jake Rodriguez

He was named to the All-Pac 12 first team this past spring. Rodriguez threw out 67 percent of all base stealers this year from behind the plate. He batted .272 this year with two homers and 32 RBI’s.

Going undrafted was Pleasant Grove’s centerfielder and pitcher Josh Adams. He was rated in the top 500 draft prospects by Baseball America. Adams will attend UC – Santa Barbara next year.

This year the MLB Draft was staged over three days. Rounds one and two were on Thursday evening. Selection for rounds three through ten were on Friday. On Saturday rounds 11 through 40 were chosen.

The MLB Draft, held each June, selects players who have just graduated from high school or collegiate players who have completed three or more years of play.

The highest any Elk Grove-area player has been drafted was in 2007 when former Laguna Creek outfielder Casey Weathers was taken in the first round by the Colorado Rockies. At Sacramento City College Weathers became a pitcher and did so well that he attended Vanderbilt on scholarship.

Weathers was the eighth overall selection in 2007. His Vanderbilt teammate David Price, also a pitcher, was the top draft choice that year and he was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Weathers is pitching in the Chicago Cubs’ organization.

Nunez, Linehan Selected In MLB Draft

2013-06-07T17:05:00.002-07:00

A pair of Elk Grove-area baseball players were selected in day two of Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft Friday. Elk Grove catcher Dom Nunez was taken in the sixth round by the Colorado Rockies. He was the 169th overall selection.

Former Sheldon and current Fresno State pitcher Tyler Linehan was drafted in the ninth round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Former Sheldon Huskie Tyler
Linehan

What is surprising is that after being so highly rated by several media sources prior to the draft, Elk Grove slugger Rowdy Tellez is still on the board. Also, going undrafted to this point is former Herd infielder Jake Rodriguez, now the Oregon State University catcher.

Following his high school days at Elk Grove Rodriguez was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, but turned down the offer to go to college.

Here's what MLB.com had to write about Nunez:

Nunez played for the national team in 2011 and '12 as a shortstop, helping Team USA to gold medals each time. But he moved behind the plate this spring at Elk Grove and has become one of the Draft's most intriguing catching prospects. He isn't especially toolsy, but Nunez plays above his talent level, thanks to his feel for the game. He has a good approach as a hitter and provides gap power but probably won't ever be much of a power hitter. He is still learning behind the plate, but is eager to improve.

Nunez batted .390 for the Sac-Joaquin Section champion Herd in 2013. He had four homers, five triples, seven doubles and drove in 37 runs. He started all four years at Elk Grove, this past season he played most of his games at catcher.

Elk Grove's Dom Nunez, taken by the Rockies Friday
in the sixth round of the MLB Amateur Draft

He is committed to play college baseball for UCLA next season. The draft selection, particularly one as high as the sixth round, may change those plans.

The Rockies drafted Nunez as a third baseman.

Here's what MLB.Com wrote about Linehan:

Linehan had a disappointing season at Fresno St. after moving between the rotation and the bullpen and struggling to find any consistency. He still has good potential, however, because of two good pitches in his fastball and curveball. His fastball sits in the low 90s and has good cutting action to it while his curveball has late, sharp downward action. If Linehan can become more consistent and add a third pitch, he could become a solid value for whatever team drafts him.

Linehan was 3-7 with a 5.90 ERA this year for Bulldogs.

His Bulldog teammate, Aaron Judge, was taken in the first round Thursday by the New York Yankees.

The MLB Draft each June selects players who have graduated from high school or collegiate players who have completed three years of play.

Following the MLB Amateur Draft

2013-06-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

The best place to do so right now is on the MLB.Com's Draft Tracker.

We're watching for guys like Elk Grove's Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez. Also, former EGHS stud Jake Rodriguez who is in his junior year at Oregon State. Sheldon's Tyler Linehan, also a junior in college now at Fresno State, could be selected.

We'll tweet right away when we hear. @EGCitizenJHull.

First Day Update -
The only local drafted was Cal/Granite Bay catcher Andrew Knapp who had quite a season for the Golden Bears this spring. He was taken in the second round by the Phillies. Knapp was the 53rd player selected.

The first overall pick was Stanford pitcher Mark Appel who went to the Houston Astros.

Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge went #32 overall to the New York Yankees.

The A's first pick was at #24 and the took Billy McKinney, a outfielder from Plano West H.S. in Texas.

The Giants selected next and took shortstop Christian Arroyo as their first round draft choice. Arroyo is from Hernando H.S. in Florida.

Round three through ten will be Friday.

The Best of the 2012-2013 School Year

2013-06-03T21:28:00.001-07:00

School is out at Elk Grove Unified and with that comes the hot months with kids trying to find things to do and stay out of their parents' hair. Almost every interscholastic sport has a summer program now, so our local athletes won't exactly be looking for too many things to do between now and when school resumes in August.

Thus, we take a moment and remember the top ten accomplishments over the past nine months in local sports:

1. Pleasant Grove Wins the Division I boys' basketball state championship.

Strange, but true, that none of the players, including the big three on the Eagles this year - Colfax Nordquist, Matthew Hayes and Malik Thames - had a D-I offer on the table, but that trio played together as well as anyone.

Sure, it took Delta River League champion Sheldon to get out of the way and be placed into the new CIF Open Division, but the Eagles took advantage of the opportunity and beat Santa Monica at ARCO/Power Balance/Sleep Train Arena in March for the area's first state championship in Division I.

2. Elk Grove Baseball Wins The Section Div. 1 Championship

Yes, they were supposed to.

With nationally-reknowned talent in Dom Nunez and Rowdy Tellez and a great supporting cast of Nick Madrigal, Derek Hill, Dave Smith and Mikey Wright, the Herd went 29-5 and made minchmeat of St. Mary's in the SJS championship round.

If it weren't for losing to Pleasant Grove in the North championship of the Boras Baseball Classic and to Div-VI champion Bradshaw Christian, this would have been a perfect season.

But, hey, in baseball anyone is due to stumble once or twice per season. Coach Jeff Carlson pulled it all together for an amazing run through the post-season. Truly, the championship game came in the final single elimination game against Woodcreek. That was one of the best baseball games you'll ever see.

3. Scott Votino Takes Second at State Wrestling Meet

Let's go to the individual sports and remember a gutsy performance by Votino, a 170-pound wrestler the previous two seasons, who put on 25 pounds and wrestled to the state championship match at 195 pounds.

He's only the sixth wrestler from Elk Grove H.S. to ever make it this far.

A great kid, Votino now will take his wrestling abilities to West Point. The Army can always use a few good men.

4. Franklin Girls Win SJS Soccer Championship

In a city where there's somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 kids playing the sport virtually year round, it's quite incredible that none of the high school teams had up to this year won a Section championship in soccer.

Franklin finally did so this season. Eliseo Lopez had a group of quality players set aside their club team for a while to play together for their high school. This group of very talented ladies beat Davis in a 4-3 shootout thriller.

5. Sheldon Boys Win Fourth Straight SJS Basketball Championship

Similar to EGHS Baseball, the Huskies were supposed to win this title, again, this year. The dynamic duo of D'Erryl Williams and Dakarai Allen led another solid group of players and both will stay together this winter as they are heading to San Diego State. Ryan Manning is headed to the Air Force Academy.

6. Kyle Larson Make Headlines On NASCAR's Nationwide Circuit

The former Pleasant Grove student is, at age 20, considered one of the most promising drivers coming through NASCAR's ranks. His horrible crash at Daytona continues to be shown on the SPEED channel. Amazing that he walked away from it with only his seat and rollcage in tact.

7. Diondre Batson Wins SEC and NCAA Regionals In The 100 Meter Dash

The former Laguna Creek star has really had a great first year at Alabama. Not only has he won the SEC and NCAA East Regional championships in the 100 meters, but Batson has qualified for this week's NCAA Outdoor Track Championships in Eugene, Ore., in the 200 meter dash and with the Tide's 4x100 meter relay team.

8. Franklin and Elk Grove Football Teams Have Great Seasons

For the first time ever, the Wildcats were undefeated in the regular season, 10-0, and won the Delta Valley Conference gridiron title. They made it to the Section semi-finals before bowing out to the eventual Div. I championship team, Granite Bay.

Elk Grove was 9-1 in the regular season - its only loss to Franklin - then looked impressive in the Division II playoffs before losing big to Folsom in a downpour at Hornet Stadium, site of the Section football championships.

9. Pleasant Grove Softball Wins DRL, Section Runner-up

Behind Celina Matthias, Vanessa Washington and Amber Murray, the Eagles won the DRL softball championships and then handed previously-undefeated Vintage its only loss of the season in the SJS D-I playoffs.

Vintage did get its revenge a couple days later by beating PG twice in the championship round by big margins to prove they had the best softball team this year.

The Eagles almost kept the EGUSD streak alive this spring -- a local school has won the past eight D-I banners.

10. Nunez, Tellez, Linehan, Adams, Rodriguez Likely MLB Draftees

This event has happened yet - Major League Baseball's First-Year Amateur Draft- yet there could be several locally-based players selected, even one or two during Thursday's first and second round.

Elk Grove's Nunez and Tellez are both likely high-round selectees. Baseball America has placed Tellez, a power-hitting first baseman, as its 59th best prospect in its annual list of the top 500 draft candidates. Nunez is 65th on its list.

A couple former EGUSD high schoolers, Tyler Linehan of Fresno State/Sheldon H.S. and a pitcher, and Jake Rodriguez of Oregon State/Elk Grove H.S. and a catcher, could both be going early.

Josh Adams, Pleasant Grove's pitcher/centerfielder, could also be selected.

Rounds three through 10 will be Friday and rounds 11 through 40 is Saturday.

Elk Grove Takes SJS Div-I Title

2013-06-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

Elk Grove High School seniors Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez may have saved some of their best baseball for the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division I championship series against St. Mary’s of Stockton Friday and Saturday at Sacramento City College.

The Herd clinched their fifth Section banner in the last 11 seasons Saturday with a dominating 11-2 win over the Rams to end St. Mary’s three year stranglehold on D-1 baseball.

Elk Grove Thundering Herd - 2013 SJS Div. I champs

In the title clincher, Tellez was four-for-five with four RBI’s including two doubles and a screeching line drive over the right field fence, about 375 feet away, in the third inning. He drove in Carlos Moseley in the first frame with a double. He tacked on an RBI single in seventh inning to drive in Elk Grove’s final run.

For the post-season, he batted .600 (12-for-20 with three homers and 11 RBI’s) yet said the Section championship was a total team win.

“A Section title is all that matters,” the big first baseman said. “I gave it my all and left it on the field and it shows in the scoreboard.”

“We put 20 runs on this team in two games,” he added. “It shows we played as a team.”

With Elk Grove leading 3-0, Nunez opened the fifth inning with a towering homer to right – the first of five runs for the Herd in that inning as they performed surgery on the St. Mary’s pitching.

In all, Elk Grove had one of its most impressive offensive performances, smacking 17 hits in Saturday’s win.

“When you win a Section title in a convincing fashion, you’ve saved your best for last,” Elk Grove head coach Jeff Carlson said. “That’s the best hitting performance we’ve had all year.”

The win secured the fifth Section championship at Elk Grove under Carlson, the first since 2007.

On the mound, Mikey Wright once again followed David Smith with another solid outing. He went the distance, scattering five hits, in winning his seventh game of the year against no losses.

The pair accounted for all but one of Elk Grove’s wins in the playoffs. Smith tacked on a pair of saves during the post-season.

The pair of wins also avenged a couple painful losses in 2010 to St. Mary’s, the last time Elk Grove played for a Section championship. In that series, the Rams beat up Herd pitching for 30 runs in two games. Nunez and Tellez were starting freshmen infielders in that series.

“They came out and thought they were the best thing ever and they put it on us,” Tellez recalled. “Me and Dom, we had a chip on our shoulder and we thought if we ever get these guys again, it wasn’t happening. We were going to reverse the scores and we did.”

When the victory dog pile was done and photos and hugs exchanged Elk Grove head coach Jeff Carlson got a chance to reflect on an emotional 2013 season, one in which the team had an impressive 29-5 record. It was another talented squad, like so many during his 13 seasons at the Elk Grove helm, full of players destined to be playing next spring at college and above.

“Every (championship) team is unique, but I don’t think I’ve had a team with has high a recognized pair of guys (in Tellez and Nunez),” Carlson said. “Our seniors stepped up the way we expected them to step up, did the job in the playoffs, which what we built for all year.”

The Herd scored 57 runs in its seven playoff games, but had to go extra innings against Sierra Foothill League champion Woodcreek to squeak out a 8-5, 8-inning win, in the second round of the North Division tournament.

“We needed some breaks in the playoffs and that’s what we got,” he remarked.

In that game, Woodcreek had the game-winning run at third base with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. But, Smith struck out the next batter and got an inning-ending ground ball out.

“You can’t say enough about David Smith and Mikey Wright about their performances in the playoffs,” Carlson said. “When your starting pitching dominates like that, you just can’t pull them out and give your bullpen some (playoff) experience.”

Special, too, was the past few months because Carlson got the opportunity to coach his oldest son, Dylan, a freshman at Elk Grove who had an RBI single in the Herd’s five-run fifth, who now looks to have the potential to be a big power hitter the next three seasons.

“He wouldn’t be in there if I didn’t think he could get it done,” Carlson said. “And, the (assistant) coaches to make certain I was doing the right thing and they’ve backed it up (the decision to have Dylan in the lineup) and supported that.”

EG Freshman Dylan Carlson

The younger Carlson had an RBI single in the five-run fifth inning to contribute to the hitting onslaught.

“He’s had to prove his spot in the lineup,” the elder Carlson said. “There’s been a ton of pressure to do that and he did that right down to today. He performed and had quality at bats when we’ve needed it.”

Carlson also talked openly about the courage shown by his wife Caryn over the past few months. She has had struggles recovering from transverse myelitis which has restricted her to a wheelchair much of the time. Caryn, though, has attended all the games this season.

“This is all for her and her battle,” Carlson said. “We couldn’t be here today without the support we’ve had. That goes for our players who have had to adjust when I’ve had to leave practices early so that I could go with her to her rehab at times. And, for our assistant coaches who have had to pick up the slack.”

“We’ve had great support from the coaches, the players, the community, everybody,” he added. “I’m very grateful.”

There’s more excitement looming this week for both Nunez and Tellez. Both of them will be sitting on pins and needles awaiting a phone call from a Major League Baseball team. Thursday will be the first two rounds of the Amateur Draft of First Year Players. Rounds three through ten are scheduled for Friday.

The two teammates and best friends are projected high draft choices. MLB.com, in its rankings of the top 100 prospects, both high school and college, nationally have Nunez ranked 89^th and Tellez 99^th.

Baseball America magazine in its list of the top 500 prospects has Tellez ranked 59^th and Nunez 65^th.

Nunez plans an evening home with family Thursday, anxiously waiting to hear when he might be selected.

“I have no idea what may happen, but I still have UCLA in my back pocket,” he said.

On the other hand, Tellez was scurrying around the state this week. Sunday he will be in Los Angeles to try out in person for the Dodgers. Later in the day he will be in Oakland to work out for the A’s. Monday he will cross the bay for a tryout with the Giants.

On Tuesday he works out in Seattle. He’s likely going to be in San Diego for the first day of the draft, working out for the Padres.

“I hope I’m fishing that day,” Tellez said. “This draft stuff has me all nervous and up tight.”

If Tellez chooses not to go pro, he’ll be enrolling at USC in the fall and will be playing baseball for the Trojans.

Wright is on his way to San Jose State while Smith will soon be enrolling at Nevada-Reno where he’ll play his college baseball next spring. Outfielder D.J. Mico says he’ll be at UC – Davis next school year, while catcher Robert Ortega is planning on playing at Sacramento City College.

After the game was over Saturday, the ice bucket was not dumped on Carlson, but rather was poured over retiring assistant coach Dave Pinckney.

“I’m going to go play golf,” Pinckney chuckled.

He has been an assistant baseball coach since 1994, coaching the junior varsity squad for six seasons before stepping up as a varsity assistant. Pinckney has also been the head junior varsity football coach the past six seasons.

“I hung around for just for this group of seniors, they are so special,” Pinckney said.

EG Takes Game One, 9-1

2013-05-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

Elk Grove took advantage of four St. Mary's errors and starting pitcher Dave Smith threw a complete game four-hitter as the Herd took game one of the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I championship series, 9-1, at Sacramento City College Friday night.

The Rams' top pitcher, Joey Caffese, walked five and hit three Herd batters in four innings in taking the loss.

Elk Grove coach Jeff Carlson knows in a best two-out-of-three series, it's very important to win game one and win it convincingly, like the Herd did Friday.

Rowdy Tellez, who was 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI's, led
Elk Grove to a 9-1 win over St. Mary's Friday

"The first game is huge," Carlson said. "I remember the first Section title as a head coach we gave up game one after having a lead and it made it tough on us to come back. Winning game one takes a little bit of the pressure off. We need to come out and compete tomorrow. They will be ready to go."

After giving up an unearned run in the top of the first inning, Smith settled down to retire the next eight batters before giving up a hit to open the fourth inning. He was helped with a pair of double plays turned by shortstop Nick Madrigal and second baseman Carlos Moseley.

Rowdy Tellez had three singles and a pair of RBI's to lead the Herd attack. He also scored from first base in the third inning on a bit of a fluke play. He stole second base and when the throw to the bag sailed into centerfield, Tellez took off for third. The throw to third was also airmailed and went into the St. Mary's dugout, allowing Tellez to score on the over throw.

Dom Nunez drilled an RBI triple in the third inning.

Smith (9-2) struck out the side in the seventh inning to finish with eight K's and walked two.

Mikey Wright (5-0, 1.58 ERA) will start on the mound for Elk Grove in game two Saturday. First pitch is scheduled at noon.

Game Notes:

Elk Grove (28-5) has now won seven games in a row, six of them in the post-season.

St. Mary's must win both games Saturday in order to keep their Section championship string alive. They've won the past three Section D-I banners.

Four members of Elk Grove's last championship team, in 2007, were in attendance at Friday's game: Justin Charles, who has another year remaining at Cal State - Stanislaus, Zach Miller, who has one more year left at Long Beach State, Joel Hull, who graduated from Menlo College in 2011 where he played four years in centerfield for the Oaks, and Brian Oien.

St. Mary's vs. EG For SJS D-1 Title

2013-05-30T21:20:00.002-07:00

Elk Grove will be trying for its fifth Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball championship under head coach Jeff Carlson this Friday and Saturday at Sacramento City College. Friday's game will begin at 7 p.m. at Union Stadium. Saturday's game starts at noon. If a third game is necessary, it will follow at about 3 p.m.

The last two times the Herd made it to the best-two-out-of three championship series the opponent was St. Mary’s of Stockton. The Rams will once again be the team standing between them and a Section championship this weekend.

In 2007, the Rams won the South Division I tournament for the first time in 24 years. They’ve owned the South Section in baseball since then.

St. Mary’s has won six of the last seven South titles, including the last five in a row.

Coach Jeff Carlson, hoping to see his
Herd team win its 5th SJS title during
his tenure at EGHS

The Rams are looking for its fourth Section Division I championship in a row this weekend, a string that began the year Elk Grove was last in the title series, 2010.

It is a bit of a surprise that St. Mary’s won the South Division this year. It looked like Turlock would be the team to beat. In fact, after losing its season-opener to Lincoln of Stockton, Turlock won 26 consecutive games. Then the Rams defeated them, 6-4 in the playoffs.

To close out the South championship, the Rams had to defeat Turlock a second time and they did, 5-1, last Wednesday, as St. Mary’s ace pitcher Joey Caffese tossed a two-hitter.

The Rams are on quite a roll right now. They’ve won nine games in a row. At one time this season, St. Mary’s record was 5-11. One of those losses was a 10-1 setback at the hands of Elk Grove.

Since that time, the Rams have won 15 of their final 16 games.

Carlson isn’t surprised that the Rams will be their opponent in the championship series.

“I’m not surprised,” Carlson said after winning the North championship last Friday. “St. Mary’s is a good club. They won (their division), too. We’re going to have to play great baseball. We’re going to have to hit and to pitch.”

Elk Grove hasn’t taken home a Section championship banner since 2007, the last title of its three-in-a-row string. During that span the Herd won 18 straight playoff games, never tasting travel through the losers’ bracket of any double elimination, post-season series.

“Getting to the Section championship is hard,” Carlson said. “But, having that opportunity for your kids to get there is a great feeling.”

The talent Elk Grove had on those teams proved to be no fluke. Cody Allen and Andrew Lopez signed minor league contracts after the 2005 championship season. Allen spent just a couple years in the pros before returning to Sacramento and enrolled at City College to play football. He set a few offensive records quarterbacking the Panthers the next two seasons.

Raymond Hernandez and Dwight Childs from the Class of 2006 are still playing in the minors – Hernandez pitching for the Diamondbacks’ organization, Childs catching for the St. Paul Saints in the American Association.

Josh Powers and Jamie Niley, also from the class of 2006 played collegiately at Sacramento State and UOP, respectively. Powers played one year in the Colorado Rockies’ farm system.

From the class of 2007, David Freitas, a pitcher/first baseman played at both Cosumnes River College and University of Hawaii. He’s now a catcher for the Oakland A’s Double-A farm team in Midland.

Also on that club was current Long Beach State player Zach Miller.

The Herd’s last visit to the Section championship series in 2010 was something most Elk Grove fans want to forget. A couple rainouts, plus graduation ceremonies caused the North tournament to end several days after the conclusion of the South playoffs.

St. Mary’s pitchers were well rested, while Elk Grove’s hurlers had to perform on short rest. The result was the Section’s highest scoring series ever. St. Mary’s won the championship in two straight games, 10-7 and 20-13.

Elk Grove was down 13-1 in the second game and came back to tie the game at 13 runs apiece. Herd pitchers just couldn’t stop the Rams’ bats to force a third game.

Current Herd stars Dom Nunez and Rowdy Tellez were freshmen on that 2010 squad. The rest of the Elk Grove lineup include several young men that are now key members of their college baseball teams: J.D. Davis (Fullerton State), Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State), Will Soto (Sacramento State) and Colby Brenner (Long Beach State).

In 2013, Elk Grove’s pitching duo of David Smith and Mikey Wright will be called upon to once again spin their magic if the Section banner will return to the Cartwright Gym. Both have been rock solid thus far in the post-season with Smith tossing a four-hit, 13-strikeout performance at Pleasant Grove while Wright wrapped up the North Division crown last Friday in a six-hit complete game win over Franklin.

If the Herd has to go to a third game, it’s likely sophomore Ty Madrigal will be called upon.

Sheldon, Franklin Relay Teams Shine At Masters

2013-05-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sheldon High School’s 4X400 Meter Relay team took first place to highlight a contingent of local track and field athletes who placed in last week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Masters event held at Elk Grove High School.

The team of Cameron Stone, Taron Johnson, Drew Lang and Steven Edwards circled the Elk Grove-Laguna Creek Community Stadium oval in a time of 3:19.20 to win the gold medal in the event.

They were just .43 of a second faster than Monterey Trail’s team of C’Maje Ramseur, Jahmar Sexton, Isiah Bair and Adam Huynh who were second.

They along with eleven other Elk Grove-area athletes will now compete in the State Track and Field Meet in Clovis at Buchanan High School starting Thursday.

The top three finishers in each event qualified for the state meet. Also, any competitor besting a pre-set mark or time also qualified.

Another relay team that took first place was Franklin’s 4X100 Meter squad of Chinyere Dike, Jorden O’Neal, Desiree Winters and Ifunanya Ezimora. Their winning time was 47.85 seconds. Monterey Trail was fifth and Cosumnes Oaks placed seventh, both out of the running for a berth in the state meet.

One member of that Monterey Trail 4x100 team, Ciara Levy, qualified for the state meet by finishing third in the girls’ 100 meter hurdles.

“I’m still disappointed with my time,” Levy said, fighting back tears.

Her time was 14.41 seconds. She is seeded 13^th at the state meet this week.

Last year the Monterey Trail girls won the Division I championship, yet still had a strong squad in 2013 under Levy’s leadership.

“It’s been hard, but I’m not going to dwell on the past,” she said. “I’m going to help build up our team to be better.”

Makayla Webb will represent Valley High School at the state meet after finishing third in the girls’ 300 meter hurdles. Levy finished fifth in that race.

Three local girls raced in the finals of the 100 meters. It was won by Florin’s Daijah Joe-Smith in a time of 12.27 seconds, just .05 of a second faster than Dike of Franklin and .08 of a second quicker than Natusmi Mcgee of Cosumnes Oaks, who had the best time in Thursday’s preliminary sprint.

“I think I did well for a prelim,” she said. “But, there are girls out there who have good times and I’m going to have to bring it on.”

Mcgee did not qualify for state in the 200 meter dash. She finished fourth behind Nia Dorner of Cordova (an impressive time of 24.36 seconds), Joe-Smith and Dike.

Next year, Mcgee sees Cosumnes Oaks as likely repeating as the Division IV champion, a title they’ve won now three years in a row.

“We just really push each other and we encourage each other a lot,” she said.

In the boys’ 400 meters this week Sheldon’s Stone is a qualifier after finishing second in that event at the Masters. Elijah Whitmore of Cosumnes Oaks was seventh and Elk Grove’s Armando Martinez was eighth in the Masters’ final.

There were a few local tracksters who just missed qualifying for state. Sheldon’s Abdul Hamid was fourth in the 3200 meter run. Ben Garcia of Pleasant Grove finished sixth in the 800 meter run. In the girls’ 100 meter hurdles, Fiyin Olusola was fifth.

Elk Grove’s girls’ 4X400 meter relay team was seventh in the Masters’ finals. In the boys’ 4X400 meter relay, the Cosumnes Oaks’ team finished eighth.

In the field events, Davis Hallberg was ninth in the pole vault. Long jumper Mishaye Venerable was eighth in her event. Tiara Webb of Monterey Trail finished 11^th. In the boys’ shot put, Jaime Cruz of Elk Grove placed seventh.

Qualifying for the state meet in the long jump were Monterey Trail’s Romin Geiger and Pleasant Grove’s Richard Cooper. Both leapers recorded a mark of 23 ft. 2 inches to finish in a tie for second.

In his preparation for the event Cooper, only in his second year competing in the long jump, said he had his starting point on the runway marked to the inch.

“We don’t count steps, we use a measuring tape and my mark is 111 feet, nine inches,” he said. “If I’m there then I’m going to hit the board every time.”

Last spring when Cooper just tried a long jump for the grins, he leaped 22 feet the first time.

“I knew then that was my event,” Cooper said.

There were a few of the field events that staged its finals on Thursday. In the boys' triple jump, Gieger placed third with a leap of 46 ft., 6.5 in.

Tais Marinho-Gomez of Cosumnes Oaks and Webb on Monterey Trail both qualified for the state meet in the shot put. Marinho-Gomez was third in the event with a toss of 38 ft., 10 in. Webb's throw of 38 ft., 7 in. placed her fourth at the Masters, but was long enough to give her an at-large berth in Clovis next week.

There was one Section Masters record set in the meet and that was by Center's Xavier Howell. He cleared the high jump bar at seven feet even, bettering the old record of 6 ft., 11.5 in. set in 1980 by Johnson High School's Ivan Morris.

Hockey Night In Stockton

2013-05-25T21:47:00.001-07:00

Reading won the ECHL Kelly Cup, 6-0 over Stockton Saturday night at the Stockton Arena. The Royals won the best-of-seven series, 4-1. The best value around in professional sports is a night watching Thunder hockey in Stockton. My son, Max, and I have become fans of the area hockey franchise.

Members of the Reading Royals skate around
the ice of the Stockton Arena with the Kelly Cup
hoisted above their heads

The Thunder were outmatched in this series against a bigger, stronger team in the Royals. In the second period alone Saturday night, Reading had four goals, one of them short-handed, one on a power play and the other two were tip-ins off rebounds.

In an age when it is a dice roll as far as how vulgar a crowd is at area sports events, my experience thus far with Thunder hockey is good, fun-loving, hockey-loving fans who cheer loudly for their favorite players and the kind of action this sport brings.

The season is now over, but plan ahead next season to attend a few Thunder games.

The Taylor Cup, on display in the lobby of the Stockton
Arena. This was awarded the Thunder for winning ECHL's
Western Conference this season.

EG Wins D-I North Over Franklin, 4-2

2013-05-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Elk Grove Thundering Herd for the ninth time has won the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I North baseball championship. Friday night they defeated Franklin, its Delta Valley Conference rival, for the fifth time in as many games this season, by the score of 4-2.

Once again, it was another strong pitching performance by the Herd's Mikey Wright who threw a complete-game eight-hitter.

The difference was a key fifth inning rally when the Herd scored three times on only one hit. They drew five bases-on-balls in that frame alone, twice with the bases loaded.

Afterwards, I talked with Herd shortstop Nick Madrigal who had a key run in the fifth and a double in the seventh. He made the game-ending catch on a running, over-the-shoulder grab in leftfield.

Elk Grove will now take on three-time defending champion St. Mary's for the Section championship May 31 and June 1, also at Sacramento City College. That will be a best two-out-of-three series.

Elk Grove last won the Division I North championship in 2010. It's last Section title came in 2007.

Day One - SJS Masters' Track and Field

2013-05-23T19:52:00.001-07:00

There were several EGUSD student/athletes who advanced to Friday's finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section's Masters' Track and Field Meet at Elk Grove High School. Here is a list of the athletes advancing in Thursday's preliminary races/events:

Girls' 4x100 Meter Relay
Monterey Trail
Cosumnes Oaks
Sheldon
Franklin

Girls' 100 Meter Hurdles
Ciara Levy (M.T.)
Fiyin Olusola (C.0.)

Boys' 400 Meter Dash
Elijah Whitmore (C.O.)
Armando Martinez (E.G.)
Cameron Stone (SH.)

Girls' 100 Meter Dash
Natsumi Mcgee (C.O.)
Chinyere Dike (Fr.)

Boys' 800 Meter Run
Ben Garcia (P.G.)

Girls' 300 Meter Hurdles
Makayla Webb (Valley)
Ciara Levy (M.T.)

Girls' 200 Meter Dash
Natsumi Mcgee (C.O.)
Chinyere Dike (Fr.)
Daijah Joe-Smith (Florin)

Girls' 4X400 Meter Relay
Elk Grove

There were a few of the field events which staged its finals on Thursday. In the boys' triple jump, Romin Gieger of Monterey Trail placed third with a leap of 46 ft., 6.5 in. He became the first local athlete to qualify for the State Track and Field Meet in Clovis at Buchanan High School next week.

Tais Marinho-Gomez of Cosumnes Oaks and Tiara Webb of Monterey Trail both qualified for the state meet in the shot put. Marinho-Gomez was third in the event with a toss of 38 ft., 10 in. Webb's throw of 38 ft., 7 in. placed her fourth at the Masters, but was long enough to give her an at-large berth in Clovis next week.

There was one Section Masters record set by Center's Xavier Howell. He cleared the high jump bar at seven feet even, bettering the old record of 10 ft., 11.5 in. set in 1980 by Johnson High School's Ivan Morris.

EG Beats PG, 5-0, To Advance To D-I North Championship

2013-05-21T22:26:00.002-07:00

Elk Grove has ridden the back of ace pitcher David Smith all the way to the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division I North baseball championship game.

The senior righthander has appeared in all four of the Herd’s playoff games, winning three of them. Two of those wins came in relief.

Tuesday night was Smith’s most impressive outing thus far as he got the starting nod against Delta River League champion Pleasant Grove in the North Division I semi-final game at Sacramento City College.

EGHS pitcher Dave Smith, who picked up third playoff
win with complete game shutout Tuesday.

Smith gave the Eagles a textbook lesson in pitching by throwing a complete-game four-hit shutout and Elk Grove defeated Pleasant Grove, 5-0. Smith had a season-high 13 strikeouts, walked no one, but did hit three batters. None of the Eagles reached third base.

In a bit of revenge for a stinging 11-1 loss to the Eagles and lefthander Josh Adams in the Northern California championship of the Boras Baseball Classic in March, Elk Grove this time took advantage of a pair of key errors in scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the third.

Just like Elk Grove did in the loss to the Eagles in March, Pleasant Grove committed five errors Tuesday night.

All of the Herd runs came with two out. In the first frame, Dom Nunez reached first on a throwing error by Pleasant Grove shortstop Bronson Grubbs. Rowdy Tellez then chopped a ball into the dirt in front of the plate, but Eagle catcher Nico Toni misplayed it and the Herd had runners on first and second.

After Derek Hill walked, Mikey Wright lined a ball to deep right. Eagle outfielder Nick Doyich seemed to get his legs tangled as he backpedaled, lost his footing and the ball ticked off his glove. The bases cleared and Wright ended up on third with what was ruled as a triple.

In the third inning Tellez’ fly ball to center was dropped. Hill followed with a sharp ground ball that Eagle third baseman Matthew Stafford tried to backhand but whiffed. That put runners at second and third. Wright then delivered again, this time with a single to center to drive in both Elk Grove runners.

Herd's Mikey Wright, 5 RBI's Tuesday, likely
starter in Friday's championship game

Wright ended up driving in all five Herd runs Tuesday.

Elk Grove threatened to score more that inning by loading the bases with one out so Eagle coach Rob Rinaldi went to the bullpen and replaced Adams with Andrew Cisneros. He got Nick Madrigal to hit into an inning-ending double play.

After Smith retired the first ten Pleasant Grove batters in a row, Adams and Toni hit back-to-back singles in the fourth inning, but Smith coaxed Beau Boyle into an infield pop-up and struck out Austin Friello to end the threat.

The Eagles tried again to get on the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Grubbs and Adams were both hit by Smith pitches to open that frame, but Toni flew out to right field and both Boyle and Friello struck out to end the inning.

The loss means that the Eagles now must play Franklin, 12-3 winners over Davis Monday, on Thursday night at Union Stadium. The winner will play Elk Grove Friday at 4 p.m. If that team beats the Herd, a second game in the double-elimination tournament will follow at 7 p.m.

It is likely Wright will start for Elk Grove in Friday's first game.

The last time Elk Grove was in the North Division I championship game was in 2010. That year, coming out of the losers’ bracket, the Herd beat Jesuit, 4-1 and 11-0, to win the North.

With a team that featured J.D. Davis (Fullerton State), Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State), Will Soto (Sacramento State) and Colby Brenner (Long Beach State), Elk Grove went on to the championship series but dropped two in a row to St. Mary’s of Stockton. Nunez and Tellez were both freshmen on that club.

St. Mary’s has won the last three Division I baseball championships. A year ago they defeated Franklin in two games.

The last Section championship won by Elk Grove was in 2007.

Franklin Scores Seven Times in 7th, Beats Davis

2013-05-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

In the Division I North Sac-Joaquin Section championship's losers' bracket, Franklin used a seven-run seventh inning to defeat Delta Valley Conference champion Davis, 12-3.

The loss ends the season for the Blue Devils while the Wildcats, after beating Davis for the first time in four games this year, will advance to Thursday night where they will take on the loser of Pleasant Grove and Elk Grove. That winners' bracket game will be played at City College Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Nick Frei drilled a solo homer to give Franklin the lead for good at 5-3 in the sixth inning.

Congrats to the Wildcat soccer team for winning the SJS D-1 championship with a 4-3 shootout on Saturday over Davis!!

In Div.1 South action Monday, Turlock stayed alive by eliminating Buhach Colony, 5-4, on a suicide squeeze bunt with two outs in the bottom of the 7th.

In the South winners' bracket, Pitman scored early then St. Mary's rallied to take a 8-6 win. This means Pitman will face Turlock Tuesday in the losers' bracket. The winner will then take on the Rams Wednesday for the South Section championship.

The Rams are the three-time defending SJS D-1 champions and have played in five of the last six SJS baseball championships.

In Div. 6 baseball, Bradshaw qualified for the championship best-two-out-of-three series by beating Ripon Christian, 7-0.

Div I Softball -

Vintage High School came into the post-season with a very rare undefeated record. That all ended Monday night when Pleasant Grove defeated the Crushers, 3-1. Catcher Amber Murray had a first-inning home run and then drove in another run with a single in the fifth inning.

The Crushers came back later Monday to defeat Tracy, 8-0.

Rocklin rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Elk Grove, 4-3, in the winners' bracket of the Division I softball tournament at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

That means the Eagles take on the Thunder in the section semi-finals Tuesday night.

Late Monday, Elk Grove remained alive by one-hitting Enochs, 8-0. They will face Vintage Tuesday at 5 p.m. in a losers' bracket game.

Worth Listening To -

Joe Davidson and Mike Finnerty interviewed Section Commissioner Pete Saco Saturday morning on the "Surewest Sports Radio Show" on ESPN 1320. It was a great interview and worth listening to because Saco talked about the realistic possibility that the CIF may in a couple years start limiting the length of practice time for each sport.

He's concerned about the number of student athletes playing club sports on top of the high school team sports and thinks it's beginning to burn out some kids and adds to the number of injuries.

C.Oaks Girls Win 3rd Straight D-IV Track Title

2013-05-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

Cosumnes Oaks High School’s girls’ track and field team needed only eight athletes, two of them seniors, to win the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division IV championship for the third year in a row.

Once again it came down to the 4X400 meter relay for the Wolfpack to claim the team title with 74 points. Vista del Lago was second at 70 points while Oakdale was a distant third with 57 points.

The event was held at Sierra High School last Thursday.

The Cosumnes Oaks H.S. Girls' Track team

The Wolfpack team of Natsumi McGee, Fiyin Olusola, Amor Howard and Lexi Becker finished third in the event, about a second behind Vista del Lago’s team, but the six points earned was enough to outdistance their Sierra Valley Conference rival for the Section banner.

The star for the Wolfpack was McGee who picked up wins in the 100 and 200 meters and was a part of the first-place 4X100 meters relay team. She’ll compete this week in the Section Masters’ Track and Field Championship in four events.

The meet will take place Thursday and Friday at Elk Grove High School.

According to Cosumnes Oaks’ track coach Jeff Adams, McGee’s time of 12.34 seconds in the 100 meters will seed her number one overall.

At the Section Masters, the top qualifiers of all divisions compete for the right to advance to the California State Track and Field Meet, May 31 and June 1, at Buchanan High School.

Another member of the Wolfpack relay teams, Olusola, won the 100 meter hurdles with a season best of 15.09 seconds and was second in the 300 meter hurdles, again with a season-best of 46.77 seconds.

In the field events, Cosumnes Oaks was led by Mishaye Venerable who was first in the long jump (17 ft., 1.25 in.).

Tais Marinho-Gomez added a second place finish in the triple jump (36 ft. 2 in.) to round out the team scoring.

There will be quite a number of other local athletes competing this week at the Section Masters, thanks to several good performances last Friday at the Division I meet held at Elk Grove High School.

Franklin's Chinyere Dike was first in the girls' 100 meters with a time of 12.47 seconds. Dike led the 4x100 meters relay team to a first place finish in that event. She was joined by Ifunanya Ezimora, Cecily Montanez and Desiree Winters.

Kamaya Tucker of Laguna Creek won the 200 meters in a time of 25.16 seconds. Dike was third in that event.

The host Herd team qualified its 4x100 meters boys’ relay team as Division I the team of Aiden Tank, Nicholas Bohamera, Armando Martinez and Brandon Bloodworth broke the school record with a mark of 42.47 seconds.

“We just worked out butts off,” Martinez said. “We didn’t have things go our way all the time this year. The way our team battled back this year was amazing.”

That performance was the third-fasted time in the 4x100 meters at Friday’s finals.

“Everything is starting to go our way now and to do this is quite an accomplishment,” Bohamera added.

Martinez came back later to place third in the 400 meters. Sheldon's Cameron Stone was second in that event while Jahmar Sexton of Monterey Trail finished seventh.

Ciara Levy of Monterey Trail was second in the girls' 100-meter hurdles and third in the 300 meter hurdles.

Monterey Trail's 4x100 meters relay team placed third and Sheldon was seventh.

In the 4x400 meters relay, Sheldon’s team of Steven Edwards, Taron Johnson, Drew Lang and Cameron Stone was first with a time of 3:20.75.

In the girls’ 4x400, Elk Grove’s team qualified for the Masters by finishing seventh.

Elk Grove’s Jack Ploeg was fifth in the 1600 meters and 10^th in the 800 meters to qualify for the Masters in both races.

In the 3200 meters, Sheldon’s Xavier Gaulman was eighth.

In the field events, Elk Grove's Jaime Cruz was ninth in the shot put. Richard Cooper of Pleasant Grove was second in the long jump and Monterey Trail's Roman Geiger was third.

Davis Hallberg of Elk Grove was second in the pole vault with a leap of 14 ft., 7 in.

Tiara Webb of Monterey Trail placed third in the girls' long jump.

The St. Francis girls and Jesuit boys was the Division I team championships. The Troubadours scored 77 points, one point better than Vacaville. Jesuit finished five points ahead of Granite Bay and Davis which tied for second in the boys’ competition.

Franklin’s girls were sixth overall while Sheldon’s boys finished seventh in team points.

Mico, Tellez, Smith Lead EG To Win Over Franklin

2013-05-18T16:51:00.001-07:00

DJ Mico has been a very typical role player for the Elk Grove Thundering Herd. He usually bats eighth or ninth in the lineup, is generally the first guy out of the dugout at the beginning of each inning to take his place in left field, the position he plays the most.

With a very talented group of baseball players new to the varsity squad this year, Mico, a senior, has seen the bench more than he probably likes, but he hasn’t complained.

“I’m not worrying about that this year,” he said. “I’m doing what I can to help the team win a championship right now.”

But, thus far in the playoffs, Herd head coach Jeff Carlson has started Mico in left and he’s delivered. Mico’s two-RBI triple in the fourth inning Saturday gave Elk Grove a 5-4 lead as the Herd came from behind to defeat crosstown rival Franklin, 9-6, in a game played at Sacramento City College.

“I got the opportunity to go out here and swing the bat,” Mico said. “It was a great experience.”

The win put Elk Grove into Tuesday’s semi-finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division I North playoffs. All games are played at Union Stadium on the SCC campus.

Mico also drove in another run with a sacrifice flyball in the fifth inning giving Elk Grove some much needed hit support from the bottom part of the lineup.

Meanwhile the top of the Herd lineup continued its fierce hitting as Rowdy Tellez pounded his second home run in as many post-season games to lead off the fifth inning. Plus, he drove in an insurance run in the sixth inning on a single.

Dom Nunez had an RBI triple in the first inning. Mikey Wright also drove in a pair of runs.

For the third straight playoff game, Dave Smith came out of the bullpen. He picked up the win Saturday by retiring the first ten batters he faced after relieving starter Ty Madrigal with one out in the third inning.

At the time Elk Grove trailed, 4-3, and Franklin was threatening to add more.

Franklin had scored three runs in the first inning and added a fourth run in the second inning, but pitchers Trent Spallas and Cameron Keup couldn’t stop the Elk Grove bats.

The loss meant Franklin has to face the loser of Pleasant Grove and Davis, the late Saturday game at City College, on Monday night in the losers’ bracket.

Inspirational Runner Leads EGHS To Strong D-I Track Showing

2013-05-17T21:32:00.001-07:00

Jack Ploeg may only be a sophomore, but the Elk Grove High School runner is one of the Sac-Joaquin Section's top performers in the 800 meters and the 1600 meters. On Friday night at the Section's Division I Track and Field Championships, Ploeg finished fifth in the 1600 and 10th in the 800, both good enough to place him into next week's Section Masters event.

Ploeg is an inspiration to his teammates, even his opponents. He's autistic. Yet through the leadership of his mother Jessie, Jack has overcome his disability to become a quality student in the classroom and on the track oval.

In between the finals in both of his events, I talked with Jack.

Other highlights from the Division I meet, held Friday at EGHS:

The Herd 4x100 relay team of Aiden Tank, Nicholas Bohamera, Armando Martinez and Brandon Bloodworth broke the school record with a mark of 42.47 seconds. That was good for third at the D-I meet.

EGHS' 4x100 meters relay team (L to R): Nicholas
Bohamera, Brandon Bloodworth, Armando Martinez
and Aiden Tank

Martinez came back later to place third in the 400 meters. Sheldon's Cameron Stone was second.

Ciara Levy of Monterey Trail was second in the girls' 100 meter hurdles.

Franklin's Chinyere Dike was first in the girls' 100 meters with a time of 12.47 seconds. Dike led the 4x100 meter relay team to a first place finish in that event. She was joined by Ifunanya Ezimora, Cecily Montanez and Desiree Winters.

Monterey Trail's 4x100 meter relay team placed third and Sheldon was seventh.

Kamaya Tucker of Laguna Creek won the 200 meters in a time of 25.16 seconds. Dike was third in that event.

In the field events, Elk Grove's Jaime Cruz was ninth in the shot put. Richard Cooper of Pleasant Grove was second in the long jump and Monterey Trail's Roman Geiger was third. Tiara Webb of Monterey Trail placed third in the girls' long jump.

Blog Notebook

2013-05-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I got quite a smattering of things, so here we go ....

Remember Emily Caruthers? She was a part of the 2009 Pleasant Grove softball team that won the Sac-Joaquin Section championship in an upset win over Jolene Henderson/Danielle Henderson/Lindsey Ziegenhirt's Sheldon Huskies.

I got this video above sent to me by her father, Stephen, of Emily with a bunt single. She was just named First Team All-Ivy League this week. She's playing her college softball for Columbia.

"I am most proud of her hard work at school and (she is) now fluent in Chinese," he wrote in an email.

Emily, who batted .344 and stole 17 bases, a school record, this season, is planning on spending her summer in China on a special internship. Caruthers has just completed her junior year at Columbia where she is majoring in economics.

Whitham Named H.S. All-American in Lacrosse

Harley Whitham, a junior at Franklin High School, was named a high school All-American as a lacrosse goalie. Below is a video of Whitham in action, playing for his local lacrosse team, the Elk Grove Gladiators.

This season the Gladiators were 16-3 and made it to the NorCal semifinals. Named to the all-NCJLA team, besides Whitham, were Billy Huss, Nicholas Spencer and Lane Kiracofe.

Gill Commits To Oregon

Pleasant Grove sophomore Sumeet Gill has verbally committed to play her college volleyball at Oregon.

"She received multiple offers from other universities and finally she decided to play for Oregon after visiting their campus and meeting with coaches and existing team players," Sumeet's father, Gulinder, wrote in an email.

On the Eagles' team last fall, the younger Gill was a middle blocker and hitter.

Pleasant Grove was 19-16 last season and finished fourth in the Delta River League with a 4-6 record.

It's not too often I report on volleyball, so when I hear something from a coach or parent, I like to stick the info in here. Like just about all the other team sports, college coaches are recruiting kids at younger and younger ages.

Ploeg To Lead EGHS Track Into D-I Finals Friday

The finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I Track and Field meet will be Friday at Elk Grove High School. One of the top local runners is Elk Grove's Jack Ploeg. In Wednesday's preliminaries he had the fourth best time in the 1600 meters and was in the top ten in the 800 meters. He's also a member of the Herd's 4X400 meter relay team.

What is amazing about Ploeg is that he is autistic and yet is competing at a very high level.

I talked with his mother Jessie Thursday and will be interviewing Jack for the Citizen. Be looking for that story.

The Monterey Trail girls are the defending Div-I champions in track and have quite a few girls in Friday's finals including Ciara Levy.

Jesuit, Davis and St. Francis are the early team favorites for this year's D-I championships.

The field events start at 3 p.m. with the track events beginning at 6 p.m. at Elk Grove-Laguna Creek Stadium. The top 12 in each event will advance to the Section Masters Track and Field Championships. That will be next Thursday and Friday also at EGHS.

Jesuit Wins Section Masters' Golf Title

Jesuit's golf squad easily ran away with the Section Masters' Golf Championship Monday with a team score of 367, 18 strokes better than second place Oak Ridge.

Shooting a 79 for the Marauders at The Reserve at Spanos Park was John Burke. He was one of the pitchers on Laguna Youth Baseball's 10-year-old Cal Ripken World Series championship team in 2007.

His teammates that summer included Hank LoForte of Franklin High School, Nick and Ty Madrigal and Carlos Moseley of Elk Grove High School.

Jesuit, Oak Ridge and Del Oro will next play in the NorCal Championships next Monday in Patterson.

Other Events .....

- Franklin's soccer team will take on Davis for the Section's Division I championship Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cosumnes Oaks High School. The Wildcats were runner-ups last season.

Interesting note: there has never been an EGUSD soccer team win a Section title. The Wildcats' second place finish last year was a first for our local schools.

- The Section softball championships get into full swing this weekend with Divisions I and II playing at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

The games we'll be watching Saturday are Pleasant Grove vs. St. Mary's, 9 a.m., West vs. Sheldon, 11 a.m. and Elk Grove vs. Vacaville, noon. The first round games at single elimination. The winners will play a second game later that afternoon to begin the double-elimination portion of the tournament.

- The Cal Bears open the trek to the Women's College World Series Friday with a game in Ann Arbor, Mich., against Central Michigan. If they win they'll next take on the winner of Michigan and Valparaiso on Saturday.

It's the last hurrah for Cal seniors Jolene Henderson and Lindsey Ziegenhirt. They want to make the WCWS for the third time.

Lindsey in planning on returning to Sacramento this summer to start her Masters' studies and will help Mary Jo Truesdale next spring with the Huskies' softball program.

- I will be at the Elk Grove vs. Franklin baseball playoff game at noon Saturday at City College. The Wildcats will go with senior Trent Spallas on the mound. Coach Jeff Carlson has not officially announced his starter and I have no idea who that might be.

As a P.S. to Wednesday's 8-5, 8-inning win over Woodcreek, many of us in the press box were saying the game was a real championship caliber contest. You could not find a more exciting baseball anywhere.

Saturday begins the double-elimination portion of the D-I championships.

EG Wins 8-Inning Thriller, Franklin Upsets O.R.

2013-05-16T06:03:00.001-07:00

A pair of EGUSD baseball teams won key first round games Wednesday night to advance to Saturday where the Delta Valley Conference rivals will face off against each other in the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I North playoffs.

In the opener at Sacramento City College's Union Stadium, Elk Grove eliminated defending Division II champion Woodcreek, 8-5, in an eight-inning thriller.

Franklin upset Delta River League co-champion Oak Ridge, 4-1, in the nightcap behind Connor Adams' complete game seven-hitter.

In winning its second consecutive single-elimination playoff game, the Herd beat Oregon-bound right hander Stephen Nogosek on Rowdy Tellez' RBI single in the top of the eighth inning which scored Carlos Moseley. Two batters later Dave Smith drove in Dom Nunez on a sacrifice fly. The relay throw from left field went past the third baseman and into the Elk Grove dugout which allowed Tellez to also score on the play for Elk Grove's third run of the inning.

Smith, who came on in relief for the second straight game, picked up the win by pitching the final two-and-two-thirds innings.

(Listen to my post-game interviews with Wright and Smith)

Tellez was three-for-three at the plate including a first-inning moon shot to give Elk Grove an early 2-0 lead.

Woodcreek was down 5-3 going into the sixth inning, but tied up the game when Herd starter Mikey Wright walked one and hit the next batter. Nogosek and Cy Hines each followed with an RBI single to tie the game. Smith came out of the bullpen to get Timberwolves' starting pitcher Tyler Milani to hit into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.

The game got real intense in the bottom of the seventh inning when Woodcreek's Alex Montes opened with a line drive to deep left-centerfield. Herd outfielders Peyton Wheatley and Derek Hill collided trying to field the ball and Montes was safe at second.

Dylan Spieza then popped up a ball in foul territory. First baseman Tellez caught the ball in front of the Woodcreek dugout and his momentum took him out of play. That allowed Spieza to advance to third.

With the winning run 90 feet away and one out, Smith then struck Dylan Bell with a big curveball for called strike three. After walking George Corp, Smith battled for 12 pitches against Hank Pankratz. Pankratz at one stage fouled off five consecutive two-strike offerings from Smith. He finally grounded out to Herd shortstop Nick Madrigal to end the threat.

With the win, it put Elk Grove into the second round of the playoffs against Franklin, the third seed from the DVC and the defending North Division I champions. The game will be at Union Stadium at noon Saturday.

Franklin battered around Oak Ridge ace Austin Root for 11 hits, three each by Hank LoForte and Tyler Blake. Blake had a solo homer in the fifth inning, his fourth in as many games.

Notes --

The Trojans entered the playoffs on a 12-game winning streak. Tonight the other DRL co-champion Pleasant Grove will open the post-season in a game with Vacaville, the Monticello Empire League winners.

Blake went with a smaller bat the last three game and has pounded the ball. He said it's a bit shorter and he grips it with his little finger off the bat.

Franklin head coach Bryan Kilby called Adams "a real bulldog" after his complete game win. He's very pleased with the way the Wildcats are now hitting the ball. They lost all three games this season to Elk Grove.

[Listen to my post-game interview with Bryan Kilby]

Nogosek, who came on in relief for Woodcreek in the sixth inning, was impressive by striking out five Elk Grove batters, yet he also walked four. Scouts sitting in front of the press box regularly clocked his fastball on their jugs guns between 91 and 93 mph.

Smith remarked afterwards he hasn't faced anyone who could throw the ball that hard. He admitted he was a bit lucky to drive the ball to left field as well as he did to drive in the two insurance runs in Elk Grove's eighth inning.

The other game tonight at SCC will pit Jesuit against Davis, the DVC champion.

Elk Grove Holds Off Vintage

2013-05-13T20:19:00.001-07:00

Ty Madrigal wasn’t feeling very good Monday. But the Elk Grove sophomore pitcher knew he needed to answer Coach Jeff Carlson’s call to start in the Herd’s biggest game thus far this season.

“He did a good job of keeping us in the game, despite feeling a little under the weather today,” Carlson said.

What Madrigal did was hold a scrappy Vintage High School team at bay for four innings to allow Elk Grove, the second seed from the Delta Valley Conference, to jump out to a 7-1 lead and then hold on for a 9-6 win over the Crushers to open the Division I North Sac-Joaquin Section baseball tournament at Wackman Field.

“After watching him last week I felt as though he gave us a good match-up,” Carlson said. “(Madrigal) did a good job holding their guys on because they run well on the base paths.”

Elk Grove pitcher Ty Madrigal

After pitching a rocky fourth inning that included a pair of Elk Grove errors, four Vintage runs and three hits, Madrigal went to the bench and started throwing up, still feeling the affects of the flu. Carlson went the final three innings with staff ace David Smith to put a lid on the Crushers.

Smith gave up a run on three hits, struck out one and walked three in his relief appearance.

The big bats of the Herd kept knocking the Crushers’ pitchers around, getting 13 hits. Senior Dom Nunez, in his final game at Wackman Field, was three-for-four with a pair of RBI’s.

“I just played the game hard and tried to get as dirty as possible,” he grinned, wearing a layer of infield dirt soiled on his jersey.

Designated hitter Landon Gastelum and shortstop Nick Madrigal each had a pair of singles while Derek Hill had an two-RBI triple in in the third inning, plus an RBI single in the first frame.

The Crushers, who scored one in the first inning, drew within two at 7-5 in the fourth and could have gotten closer, but Dahlen Bernere was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second base on Jared Lemke’s single. A nifty Rowdy Tellez-to-Dylan Carlson-to-Nunez relay beat Bernere to home.

The Herd now faces Sierra Foothill League champion Woodcreek Monday at 4 p.m. at Sacramento City College. That game will also be a single-elimination contest. From that point on, the Section playoffs will be a double-elimination affair.

The game was one of four single-elimination, “play-in” games that were staged Monday in the newly-expanded 12-team Division I bracket.

In the other contests, DVC No.3 seed Franklin rolled over Rodriguez, 13-0, as Tyler Blake and Hank LoForte each had home runs. Pleasant Grove defeated Rocklin, 2-1, and Jesuit beat Granite Bay, 11-5.

The Second Season Starts Today

2013-05-13T08:02:00.001-07:00

The baseball post-season gets underway this afternoon with several single-elimination "play-in" games around the area. I'll be tweeting updates from Vintage vs. Elk Grove this afternoon.

There's a couple good stories worth reading. Joe Davidson wrote a good story this morning about Elk Grove's senior duo of Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez. The pair have been close to a Section championship a couple times in their previous three years at EGHS. They'd like to go out on top.

Matt Barrows has a note on former Herd offensive tackle and current 49er Kenny Wiggins. He's been on the practice roster the last couple seasons. He's hoping for a full roster spot this fall in San Francisco.

Softball playoffs get started tomorrow around the area. More on those games tomorrow.

On the collegiate side, congrats to the Cal Bears for being selected to participate in the Michigan regional this week in Ann Arbor. Besides the host Wolverines, the Bears will also see Valapraiso and Central Michigan in this regional.

Henderson Back But Cal Loses

2013-05-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Seattle, Wash. - Cal senior Jolene Henderson entered the pitching circle Thursday for the first time since April 21, taking the loss in a 7-4 defeat against Washington. She gave up one run in her one inning of work.

Henderson (29-8) injured her knee on a routine play in the infield in a 2-1 loss to Oregon State and had been held out of action. In that stretch with a pair of freshman pitchers, Cal went 0-8.

Henderson entered Friday’s game with the Huskies for five innings, making her presence felt by allowing only two hits, a run and a walk while fanning five before the game was sent into extra innings. Cal ended up losing 9-8 in nine innings, its ninth loss in a row.

Cal's Jolene Henderson

Going into Saturday’s regular season finale, the Bears are 35-17, 9-14 in the Pac-12, yet with a chance to qualify for the NCAA Women’s Softball Championships. The latest USA Today/ESPN poll has the Golden Bears ranked 20^th in the nation.

Earlier in the week it was announced that Henderson, a Sheldon High School graduate, is one of the ten finalists for the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. She broke the record for all-time wins earlier this season and now stands at 127 career victories. Henderson has a 1.21 ERA this year. Tack on to that a .248 batting average with seven home runs and 19 RBI.

Gray Earns All-Atlantic 10 Honor

Former Elk Grove High School pitcher Carlee Gray was picked to the Atlantic 10’s All-Rookie team earlier this week.

Carlee Gray, on the left

The George Washington University freshman has started every game at first base and has been a force in the heart of the Colonials' lineup in her rookie campaign. She is batting .328 with 45 hits, nine doubles and 28 RBIs, and has reached base at a .410 clip. She ranks second on the team in doubles and third in batting average, hits and RBIs.

Gray has committed only four errors in 311 chances this season.

Sullivan Named To Jr. Olympic Team

Pleasant Grove High School freshman Erika Sullivan was selected to the USA Jr. Olympic volleyball team last week. She’ll play for the USA squad in Dallas, Tex., in July.

Sullivan with her parents, now a part of USA Jr.
Olympic volleyball team

Sullivan not only played for the Eagles this past fall, but is also a member of the Delta Valley Volleyball club.

Local Soccer Team Wins Cal State North Cup

Last weekend the U14 Endurance girls soccer team, a part of FC Elk Grove, won the Cal North State Cup and are now going on to Hawaii to represent Elk Grove and Northern California in the Far West Regionals.

The team, coached by Phil Burnett, won the Nor-Cal Premier Soccer League championship this year and have won first place in five tournaments over the past few months.

According to one team mom, Lisa Ortiz, a few members of the team also played soccer for their high school this spring.

“Some of the girls played basketball, ran track, etc.,” Ortiz wrote in an email. “They are a group of hard working girls that dedicate their days and evenings to their sports. They missed family functions, and school social events to play in tournaments local and out of town. When they have tournaments they even practice on the weekends on sometimes on a last minutes notice.”

The team is raising money to help pay for their expenses to travel to Hawaii. Donations can be sent to team manager Shirley Chan. Her email address is: Shirls.Chan@yahoo.com.

College Fishing Tournament Coming To The Delta

There are many collegiate sports but recently competitive fishing has begun to draw some interest. Sponsored by FLW Outdoors, which already runs many professional bass and walleye fishing tournaments around the country, FLW College Fishing will hold the third of its four Western Conference events this Saturday in the California Delta.

Fifty collegiate teams will launch from Russo’s Marina in Bethel Island at 7 a.m. Weigh-in begins at 1 p.m.

Two fishermen competing are from Elk Grove. Thomas Kanemoto is on one of three teams representing Sacramento State University. Russyl Soto is competing for San Jose State.

FLW College Fishing teams compete in four qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five conference invitational tournaments. The top ten teams from each conference invitational tournament will advance to the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.