Rob Willson told his ace, Cameron Ray, on Monday afternoon not to think big picture. Go simple, the Sierra College coach implored his All-America hurler from Roseville High School.
Pitch by pitch, in other words.
Ray heeded the advice of his coach/psychologist. He ignored fatigue and any measure of pressure and tossed the game of his young career, leading the Wolverines to the state community college baseball championship with a 6-2 victory over Southwestern College of Chula Vista and being named the tournament MVP along the way.
"It didn't have to be like running a marathon and thinking, Oh my gosh, 26 miles?" Willson said. "Instead, I told him to look at it like, 'OK, it's one mile. Then another mile, then another.'
"I told him I wanted him to go one inning since he threw so many pitches Saturday. But I lied to him. Then it was two innings, then a third."
It was 5 1/3 innings of Ray's grit and will leading the Wolverines to their first state title in a sport dominated by the Southern California schools.
Ray flourished this spring under pitching coach Josh Morton, a former star at Del Campo and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Ray matured as a player, student and – he'll tell you – person in his two-year Sierra tour. He went from steady prep performer to staff ace for the state's top team.
The culmination included avoiding getting crushed under the traditional dogpile celebration on the mound.
"I survived it," Ray said. "This was the best day of my life. Can't believe it."
Ray said he will attend Sonoma State, a rising Division II power, next season.
More Sierra
Sierra no longer is the cozy little school tucked away in Placer County. It's a power in several sports with a host of home-grown talent.
The football team, under coach Jeff Tisdel, was nationally ranked again last fall. The women's basketball team under Brandie Murrish reached the state championship game in 2007. The wrestling team under coach Ken Wharry won the state title last fall. Heavyweight Erik Nye just won the University World Team Trials, and he is making a bid for the Olympic Trials. Nikka Campora this month won the state diving championship.
Now it's Sierra's turn in baseball, a sport regionally dominated for years by Sacramento City College. A gap once a generation wide has closed.
Herd pride (in college)
Four Elk Grove High football products played well in spring drills at their colleges and enter summer workouts as likely fall starters. They all passed the "look" test, at least.
Kenny Wiggins, 6-foot-7, 310 pounds, was honored by Fresno State coaches for his performance. Matt Kopa (6-7, 300) is a returning Stanford starter at tackle. Jordan Glass, 6-2, 240, is a Utah State linebacker, and Ryan Coulson (6-3, 235) is a linebacker-defensive end at Nevada.
State meet flashbacks
The best prep distance runner in the country is German Fernandez, a senior from tiny Riverbank High (between Escalon and Modesto) with some monstrous recent efforts. His 3,200- meter time of 8 minutes, 45.08 seconds in the Masters Meet is mind-blowing considering he earlier won the 1,600 in 4:07.62. German's 3,200 effort shattered the meet mark of 8:59.38, set by Jesuit's Eric Mastalir in 1986. Fernandez has a shot to break Mastalir's state record of 8:44.95, set in 1986. Coaches wonder if he's a future Olympian.
Getting jump-started
Area high school students seeking career insight and employment possibilities in professions such as entertainment, fashion, medicine, engineering, coaching, sports media (including interning in The Bee's Sports department) are encouraged to attend the JumpStart 21 Youth Conference on Saturday at Kennedy High.
The free workshop/seminar is presented by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. For information: www.JumpStart21.com or (916) 446-7883.
Call The Bee's Joe Davidson, (916) 321-1280.
