Prep softball, baseball rankings: Whitney, Franklin could collide in D-I playoff showdown
At this time a year ago, they called themselves the “Cardiac Cats,” a skilled and determined lot of baseball players at Whitney High School who used rolling momentum to accomplish things that perhaps only they could envision.
For years, these cats were called much worse, having endured seasons of 7-17 in 2018, 11-17 in 2019 and 7-19 in 2021.
Last season under Bee Coach of the Year Jackson Watt, Whitney stormed to a 28-5 start that included winning the program’s first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship, doing so in the highest classification of Division I. With the bulk of the lineup back for another run, Whitney heads into the D-I section playoffs as a team with more to prove, the No. 2 seed opposite top-seeded Franklin of the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Whitney, at 22-6 after winning the brutally challenging top-to-bottom Sierra Foothill League, will host Armijo of Fairfield on at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a playoff opener. Whitney is led by leading RBI guys in Tyler Allen and Nathan Erickson with 26 each. Jace Gillmore has a team-high three home runs. Jax Gimenez is batting. 418, second to Allen’s .440 on the team, and Luke Oyler is hitting .410.
The Whitney pitching staff is battle tested, headed by Gavin McLendon’s 9-1 record and 74 strikeouts in 56 innings. Gillmore is 5-1 and Oyler is 5-2. The staff ERA is 2.22. Gillmore went 11-0 last season and McLendon 9-1.
The other Wildcats (Franklin)
On the opposite side of the bracket looms Franklin, The Bee’s top-ranked team much of the season, with Whitney in the top three all season. Franklin under longtime coach Bryan Kilby is 24-4. These Wildcats have two aces in Nic Abraham (7-0) and Nolan Stevens (2-0) and a stout defense that includes center fielder Jordy Lopez, all anchors for a team that rolled to a 17-1 showing in the tough Delta League and a 10-game winning streak.
The Franklin roster includes four-year starters such as Stevens, a Major League Baseball draft prospect, and key freshmen Dylan Minnatee (15 RBI) and Jason Harris (14 RBI). Derek Pham leads Franklin with a .380 average, nine doubles and three home runs. Minnatee is hitting .324, Dom Giusti .320, Lopez .312, Stevens .310 and Noah Meaux .304. Abraham is a truck at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, and his ERA is minuscule at 0.58.
▪ Also in D-I, No. 4-seeded Elk Grove is led by pitchers Russell Pettis (5-1) and Ned Frutchery (6-3). No. 6 Vacaville is paced by pitcher Jaiden Oldwin (6-0) while No. 8 Oak Ridge is led by ace Jake Fields (5-1). The Rocklin at Davis D-I opener could produce the darkhorse of this field.
Division II
The top seeds are Pitman of Turlock and El Capitan of Merced with No. 3 Woodcreek, No. 4 Rio Americano, No. 6 Jesuit, No. 7 Granite Bay and No. 10 Yuba City all capable of winning the bracket.
A darkhorse? How about No. 13 Cordova, led by Levi Nyberg’s .569 average, 11 doubles and 29 RBI, Eli Campbell’s .544 average, 13 doubles and 27 RBI, and Sean Cruz’s .467 average. Cordova plays Rio Americano, which is paced by Sam Marr, who is batting .507 with 25 RBI, and Chase Christenson, who has 28 RBI and a 7-0 record on the mound.
Division III
Ponderosa is the top seed, led by Ian Holt, who is batting .319 with six doubles and 26 RBI, and pitchers Matthew Gallant, Luke Everett, Austin Sanchez and Ricky Larsen.
The No. 2 seed is Capital Athletic League champion Christian Brothers, led by Dylan Drake, who is batting .506 with 27 RBI. Nate Teeple has belted three home runs and six doubles and has 20 RBI.
Division IV
Top-seeded Woodland has won 12 consecutive games and rolled through the Golden Empire League behind do-all talent Austin Staple. He is batting .392 with 20 RBI and is 6-1 on the mound. Carter Imback is hitting .423 with 17 RBI.
No. 3 Placer is led by Cowen Meyer, who has four home runs, and ace Austin Stapleton is 6-1.
Division V
Top-seeded Sutter, co-champions of the Pioneer Valley league with No. 2-seeded Colfax, is led by Landon Sable’s .479 average and 26 RBI, Matt Lorentz’s .467 average, Jack Erickson’s 28 RBI, Andrew Hanson’s 27 RBI and ace Jagger Beck, who is 7-1.
Colfax’s main man is ace Marcus Maeder, who is 7-0 on the mound and also has 25 RBI. Erickson is 6-0 on the mound and Gabe Garcia 6-1, giving the Falcons a formidable 1-2-3 pitching punch.
No. 3 seed Bradshaw Christian is led by Micah Nicholson, who has swatted five home runs and is second in the section with 39 RBI. David Wiser has 30 RBI and is 7-1 on the mound. Bradshaw Christian won its final 16 games last season and captured the CIF Northern California regional small-school championship by beating a 33-0 Colusa juggernaut.
Division VI
Top-seeded Leroy Greene Academy of Natomas won its first league championship for a program that started in 2015.
Leroy Greene is 16-1 behind Drew Perry, the section leader with a .696 average and 42 RBI. He also had five home runs, including two grand slams in one game. Teammate Eddie Ames is batting .571, fourth best in the section, and Korey Ramson is hitting .523.
Division VII
Turlock Christian and Woodland Christian are the top seeds. The best early game is Wednesday’s opener in Clarksburg, where the No. 4 Delta Saints host No. 5 Valley Christian of Roseville, led by 500-game winning coach Brad Gunter Jr. Kaden Clive is batting .429, Zach Carli .435 and Tyler Finley .412 for Delta, and Clive is 4-2 on the mound. Jackson Nichols has powered Valley Christian with a .383 average, five home runs and 29 RBI.
For complete baseball playoff brackets, go here.
SFL softball race
The section softball playoffs do not start until next week, but the action figures to remain hot in the final days of the regular season this week, including in the powerhouse Sierra Foothill League.
Example: Granite Bay’s Drew McCown was at bat in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of a tie game against Whitney in a battle for first place. McCown’s slicing single into short left field did not appear to be enough to score Avery Seva from second base. But Seva was off on contact, hit the inside corner of third base and barreled for home plate, where Whitney’s solid junior catcher, Mya Flindt, was waiting for the throw.
The throw never came. The ball spun away from the left fielder enough to prevent a play on Seva, and the Grizzlies beat the Wildcats 2-1 to take a half-game lead over Whitney and Oak Ridge heading into the final stretch. Seva, who was sidelined for two years due to a nasty ankle injury suffered in a travel ball game, was not thinking of her safety when she hit third base with a head of steam.
“I just knew that somehow I was going to get around Mya, who’s a great catcher, and find a way to score that run,” Seva said. “I was glad I didn’t have to tangle with her.”
Freshman Leilani Terrazas hit her fifth home run of the year for Granite Bay’s first run.
▪ Pleasant Grove holds a two-game lead over Franklin with two to go in the Delta League. Most playoff spots are coming down to the wire in the final week of the season.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Softball
Records entering Monday
1. East Nicolaus (25-0-1)
2. Pleasant Grove (21-5)
3. Granite Bay (16-6)
4. Ponderosa (18-3-1)
5. Vista del Lago (23-2)
6. Oak Ridge (12-8)
7. Whitney (15-7)
8. Franklin (20-5)
9. Sutter (22-1)
10. Vacaville (23-1)
11. Elk Grove (14-11)
12. Inderkum (17-6)
13. Del Oro (11-10)
14. St. Francis (12-11)
15. Sheldon (15-11)
16. Woodcreek (13-8)
17. Wheatland (17-8)
18. Pioneer (18-4)
19. Capital Christian (11-5)
20. Dixon (18-6)
Bubble: Christian Brothers (12-6); Cordova (15-4); Folsom (7-11); Marysville (14-6); Oakmont (14-8); Rocklin (9-12); Roseville (11-13).
Baseball
Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs
Tuesday’s openers
Listed by seeding
Division I
No. 16 Stagg at No. 1 Franklin
No. 9 Turlock at No. 8 Oak Ridge
No. 12 McClatchy at No. 5 Lincoln-Stockton
No. 13 River City at No. 4 Elk Grove
No. 14 Laguna Creek at No. 3 St. Mary’s
No. 11 Folsom at No. 6 Vacaville
No. 10 Rocklin at No. 7 Davis
No. 15 Armijo at No. 2 Whitney
Division II
Tuesday’s openers
No. 16 Ceres at No. 1 Pitman
No. 9 Rodriguez at No. 8 Linden
No. 12 Mountain House at No. 5 Lodi
No. 13 Cordova at No. 4 Rio Americano
No. 14 Golden Valley at No. 3 Woodcreek
No. 11 Downey at No. 6 Jesuit
No. 10 Yuba City at No. 7 Granite Bay
No. 15 Bear Creek at No. 2 El Capitan
Division III
Tuesday’s openers
No. 16 Florin at No. 1 Ponderosa
No. 9 Oakdale at No. 8 Del Campo
No. 12 East Union at No. 2 Lincoln
No. 13 Patterson at No. 4 Pioneer
No. 14 Los Banos at No. 3 Central Catholic
No. 11 Sierra at No. 6 Roseville
No. 10 Vista del Lago at No. 7 Vanden
No. 15 Beyer at No. 2 Christian Brothers
Division IV
Tuesday’s openers
No. 9 Wheatland at No. 8 Liberty Ranch
No. 12 El Dorado at No. 5 Casa Roble
No. 13 Sonora at No. 4 Ripon
No. 11 Venture Academy at No. 6 Calaveras
No. 10 Galt at No. 7 Marysville
Byes: No. 1 Woodland, No. 2 Oakmont, No. 3 Placer
Division V
Wednesday’s openers
No. 8 Delta Charter at No. 1 Sutter
No. 5 Ben Holt at No. 4 Hughson
No. 6 Escalon at No. 3 Bradshaw Christian
No. 7 West Campus at No. 2 Colfax
Division VI
Wednesday’s openers
No. 8 Millennium at No. 1 Leroy Greene
No. 5 Bret Harte at No. 4 Le Grand
No. 6 Western Sierra at No. 3 Vacaville Christian
No. 8 Mariposa County at No. 2 Argonaut
Division VII
Wednesday’s openers
No. 8 Foresthill at No. 1 Turlock Christian
No. 5 Valley Christian at No. 4 Delta
No. 6 Rio Vista at No. 3 Ripon Christian
No. 7 Golden Sierra at No. 2 Woodland Christian
