Prep baseball, softball rankings: CAL race down to the wire; softball battles heating up
The Capital Athletic League baseball race figures to be a fight to the finish, to the final day, and this surprises none of the players, coaches or fans.
Entering Monday, Bee-ranked No. 8 Del Campo was in first place in the CAL with an 11-1 league showing, followed by No. 9 Christian Brothers (9-3), No. 12 Vista del Lago (10-5) and No. 10 Rio Americano (8-4) with El Camino still in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoff mix at 7-5. Capital Christian and Sacramento both seek breakthrough CAL victories.
Del Campo beat Christian Brothers two out of three times in the CAL, swept Vista del Lago in three and lost to Rio Americano 11-3 in the finals of the Christian Brothers/Del Campo Easter Tournament on April 4. The Cougars of late plowed through Sacramento and Capital Christian in going a combined 6-0, winning by a combined 58-2, and will play Rio Americano three times this week, starting Monday at home.
Returning All-Metro star Matt Moses leads Del Campo with three home runs, 23 RBI and 22 runs. He also sports a team-best 4-2 record on the mound to go with a team-high 42 strikeouts in 38 innings as a Bee Player of the Year candidate.
Rio Americano is 16-4, all of its losses coming in the CAL. Sam Marr leads the Raiders with 18 RBI and Reese Christiansen and Jonathan Pierce have 17 each. Marr and Caden Beloian have each belted two home runs for a team that has seven. Christiansen is 6-0 on the mound, Beloian 3-0 and Brady Wilson 3-0.
Christian Brothers has a 3-2 nonleague win over rival Jesuit and plays El Camino three times this week. The Falcons won two of three against Rio Americano and lost two of three to Del Campo.
The CAL has been a baseball power for decades, including in the 1980s and 1990s with El Camino sporting strong teams under famed coach Frank Calcagno, who died in 2022 at 83. Calcagno’s best player was Derrek Lee, a first-round draft pick in 1993 who slugged his way through 11 seasons with six Major League Baseball teams.
Last week, El Camino named its baseball field in Calcagno’s honor, an event that drew scores of former players, coaches and campus faculty. Calcagno was as beloved of a baseball coach as he was a teacher. The sign that graces the backstop at the El Camino field with black lettering on Eagles green reads: “Frank Calcagno ‘Yo’ Memorial Field.” Calcagno often dropped on “Yo” in casual conversation.
A plaque on the backstop reads: “In loving memory of Frank ‘Yo’ Calcagno. A great teacher, coach, mentor and friend to so many.”
FVL Race
The Foothill Valley League is also down to the wire with Ponderosa leading the pack at 6-3 in league play, followed by Lincoln at 5-4 and Placer, West Park, Nevada Union and Oakmont each at 4-5.
Ponderosa won two of three against West Park last week after winning two of three against topping Oakmont. Ponderosa and Lincoln face off three times this week.
Falcons flying
Colfax continues to churn out exceptional teams across the board, including baseball as coach Chris Nave has the Falcons cruising at 17-2 overall and 7-1 in the Pioneer Valley League. The team is riding an 11-game winning streak.
Jack Erickson leads Colfax with 23 RBI. Marcus Maeder has 21 and Gavin Hooper 16. Dylan Stallions and Bradley Nave have each scored 24 runs, and Charlie Satterlee has two home runs. Gabe Garcia is 3-0 on the mound. Erickson and Maeder are 2-0 for a team that sports a 1.04 ERA. Garcia has 59 strikeouts in 40 innings, Maeder 69 in 38.2 and Erickson 45 in 25.2. The Falcons have struck out 210 batters.
Colfax and Sutter are tied for first in the PVL. The teams have split in PVL play. Sutter ace and football star Jagger Beck tossed a one-hitter with one walk and 12 strikeouts in a 13-0 win over Wheatland, a game in which Matt McCall drove in three and Landon Sable and Carson Bishop two each.
DLS devoured locals
De La Salle of Concord finished last season state-ranked No. 1 by Cal-Hi Sports. The Spartans were Northern California top-ranked at times this season and are ranked 15th in the state now, one spot behind Bee No. 1 Franklin.
The Spartans are 5-1 against Sacramento-area programs this season with wins over Folsom (6-3), Woodcreek (8-0), Granite Bay (7-1), Elk Grove (8-6) and, on Saturday, Jesuit (14-2).
Whitney defeated De La Salle 6-5 on March 18.
Softball races
The regional softball action, like the weather, has been heating up, and league standings have started to define playoff hopes.
Delta Daunting: Pleasant Grove took two out of three games last week in the tough Delta League, losing to Sheldon and beating Franklin and St Francis. Zoe Iverson blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over St. Francis as sophomore Madeline Lawson allowed just four hits while striking out seven.
Franklin celebrated alumni day by beating Sheldon for the second time this season. Freshman Leah Pham hit her first high school home run in the 7-3 win. Franklin and Pleasant Grove are tied atop the Delta League with 6-1 records. St. Francis and Elk Grove are two games back and Sheldon is in fifth place at 3-4. All four teams appear to be headed for the playoffs.
Sierra Foothill League: Whitney has a rematch with the only SFL team to beat the Wildcats season in Del Oro. The Wildcats picked up big wins over Granite Bay and Rocklin to remain atop the SFL with a 9-1 record. Alyssa Jeffery hit two home runs against Rocklin in a 4-1 win. Granite Bay’s Avery Seva did her best with a three-hitter against Whitney earlier in the week in a 4-0 loss. The Grizzly bats woke up against Del Oro, banging out eight hits, including a Kate Vincent grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to walk-off the Eagles.
Granite Bay and Oak Ridge are tied for second place in the SFL at 6-4 and Del Oro is a game back at 5-5.
Foothill Valley League: Ponderosa made a statement last weekend by beating Vista del Lago and followed that up with FVL wins over West Park and Lincoln. Freshman Bailey Borges hit her second home run of the season and Whitney Montoya was 5 for 5 on the week at the plate, raising her batting average to .500.
Lincoln is one game back of the Bruins with West Park and Oakmont two games out.
Pioneer Valley: Sutter, with two wins over second-place Wheatland last week, has a virtual lock on the PVL at 8-0. The Pirates didn’t make it easy. They took the defending CIF Northern California small-school champions to extra innings in the first game, but junior Rylee Gillespie hit her third homer of the day to seal the win for Sutter, now 18-1 on the season. Gillespie’s eight RBIs in the game are a section-high this season.
Marysville is two games back in the loss column in the PVL, and Colfax, Wheatland and Bear River are three back.
Capital Athletic League: Morgan Sweet knocked in a pair of runs to beat Capital Christian 5-2, keeping Vista del Lago undefeated at 6-0 in the CAL. Christian Brothers is a game back followed by Capital Christian. Del Campo and El Camino are tied for fourth place.
Capital Valley Conference: Woodcreek leads the CVC with a 5-0 mark with Inderkum in second place at 6-1. Coach Gary Ybarra’s young Timberwolves have only lost to top-tier teams and are 10-5 overall. Sophomore Maryn MacNeil stroked a home run, drove in four runs and tossed five innings of no-hit ball in an 11-0 win over Bella Vista.
Seniors Rylei Trujillo and Samantha Stoll lead Inderkum. Trujillo hit the ground running after her transfer sit-out period. She leads the team in hitting (.538), doubles (8) and home runs (4). In the circle, the UNLV commit has a 1.99 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 32 innings. Inderkum’s only CVC loss was to Woodcreek, the day before Trujillo joined the roster. The rematch is May 2.
▪ River City leads the Metropolitan Conference with a 4-1 record, a half-game ahead of Kennedy. Laguna Creek, Monterey Trail and McClatchy are still in the running. Pioneer, Dixon and Casa Roble are tied for first in the Golden Empire League with just one league loss.
▪ Vacaville passed a big test, beating Pioneer 7-1. The Bulldogs have won 17 straight games since an opening-day loss to Pleasant Grove and could very well enter the playoffs 24-1. Only Vanden has given the orange and black a tussle so far in the Monticello Empire League. Mikayla Freshour carries a .552 average with five home runs. In the circle, Xochitl Atayde has struck out 124 batters in 88 innings.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Baseball
Records entering the week
1. Franklin (21-4)
2. Whitney (17-4)
3. Woodcreek (12-6-1)
4. Oak Ridge (12-8-1)
5. Davis (16-6)
6. Elk Grove (13-8)
7. Vacaville (13-9)
8. Del Campo (14-8)
9. Christian Brothers (13-6-1)
10. Rio Americano (16-4)
11. Jesuit (11-12-1)
12. Vista del Lago (14-8-1)
13. Colfax (17-2)
14. Bradshaw Christian (14-4)
15. Ponderosa (11-7-1)
16. Folsom (8-11-2)
17. McClatchy (13-8)
18. Del Oro (11-9)
19. West Park (11-11)
20. Lincoln (11-7)
Bubble: Bella Vista (13-9); Florin (12-8); Granite Bay (7-13); Laguna Creek (10-7); Leroy Greene (12-1); Nevada Union (13-9); Oakmont (11-11); Pioneer (12-3); Placer (10-9); Pleasant Grove (10-11); River City (14-9); Rocklin (9-13); Roseville (14-7); Sutter (15-4); Woodland (11-3); Yuba City (14-9).
— Joe Davidson/jdavidson@sacbee.com
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Softball
Records entering the week
1. Whitney (15-3)
2. East Nicolaus (19-0-1)
3. Ponderosa (13-2-1)
4. Granite Bay 13-6-1
5. Vista del Lago (16-1)
6. Pleasant Grove (17-5)
7. Franklin (17-3)
8. Sutter (18-1)
9. Del Oro (8-8)
10. Vacaville (17-1)
11. Oak Ridge (9-6)
12. Elk Grove (11-11)
13. Sheldon (12-10)
14. St. Francis (8-9)
15. Wheatland (11-8
16. Inderkum (13-5)
17. Woodcreek (10-5-1)
18. Pioneer (12-4)
19. Dixon (13-6)
20. Rocklin (7-9)
21. Oakmont (10-6)
22. Marysville (8-5)
Bubble: Antelope (7-8); Christian Brothers (10-4); Folsom (5-9); Lincoln (6-9); River City (7-6).
— Pete Dufour/PeteBeeSports@gmail.com
