High school notes: Oak Ridge throws back-to-back no-hitters

It’s one thing to throw a no-hitter against a quality opponent in a good league.

But back-to-back in the same week against the same opponent?

That’s what Oak Ridge High School did last week against Del Oro in Sierra Foothill League baseball games, and those pitching gems helped elevate the Trojans to the top of The Sacramento Bee’s rankings.

On April 25, junior Trenton Denholm struck out eight, walked one and threw just 80 pitches in a 2-0 victory in El Dorado Hills. Denholm is 7-0 with an 0.16 ERA. The key hit for Oak Ridge was Tyler Reyes’ two-run single.

Two days later in Loomis, junior John Cross struck out 10 and walked three in a 4-0 victory. Denholm had a two-run triple, and John Mook drove in two runs for the Trojans (16-4, 10-2).

Denholm and Cross relied mostly on fastballs, and good defense, Oak Ridge coach Todd Melton said.

“Just to throw a no-hitter is rare,” Melton said. “To do that in back-to-back games, yeah, that’s something. Wow.”

Denholm was the Trojans’ closer last season, posting a 1.50 ERA for a 25-6 team. Cross was on the junior varsity in 2015. Oak Ridge, which graduated 13 seniors last year, has only seven seniors this season.

“We’re really young, but we’re talented, and it’s a good group of guys to work with,” said Melton, the Trojans’ coach since 2008. “We’re feeling good. We feel that we’ve got two guys who can lead us in Denholm and Cross. Our rotation is new, but it might be the best staff we’ve had here. A lot of good arms.”

Good bats, too. The Trojans’ leading hitters include Mook (.414, 12 RBIs), Beau Philip (.379, 16 RBIs) Billy Martina (.357, 12 RBIs), Cameron Allie (.345, 14 RBIs), Denholm (.345, 12 RBIs) and Brendan Galbreath (.276, 17 RBIs).

Track and field – Rae’vyn Lawler of Sacramento High won the Sacramento Meet of Champions’ 100-meter dash in a wind-aided 11.83 seconds, the area’s fastest girls time this spring in any conditions, on Saturday at American River College.

Fiona O’Keeffe of Davis High won the 1,600 (4 minutes, 47.69 seconds), and St. Francis’ Kiani Reyna, Lillian Enes, Elizabeth Hennessy and Ariane Arndt won the 4x400 relay (3:50.52). Arndt also was second in the 800 (2:09.62), a fraction behind Alyssa Brewer of California-San Ramon (2:09.61).

Boys winners included Vista del Lago’s Jacob Sampson (400, 48.54), Woodcreek’s Derek Parker (800, 1:54.36), Cosumnes Oaks’ Derrick Griffith (300 hurdles, 37.67) and Oakmont’s Isaiah Holmes (high jump, 6 feet, 8 inches, and triple jump, 47-5). Granite Bay’s Travis Kartz and Del Oro’s Jacob Bowler tied for first in the pole vault (15-10).

Basketball – Gregg Pistochini is Bear River’s new boys basketball coach, hired by the man he replaced.

Pistochini takes over for Duwaine Ganskie, who stepped down to focus on his athletic director duties. Pistochini is just the third boys basketball coach in the program’s 30-year history. (Jack McCrory is the school’s winningest coach, and the gym bears his name.)

Pistochini, a Sacramento State graduate, has coached for 29 years locally with stints at Bella Vista, Casa Roble and Del Oro, where he was the junior varsity head coach and an assistant varsity coach.

▪ Folsom guard Alec Andrews signed with Cal Tech, Sheldon guard Isaiah Brooks with Chico State, Sacramento guard Quayonna Harris with Sac State and Pleasant Grove guard Brittany Nguyen with UC Davis.

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "High school notes: Oak Ridge throws back-to-back no-hitters."