Prep baseball rankings: Del Campo sweeps Rio Americano; Whitney moves into top 5
The season didn’t start off as planned for the Del Campo High School baseball team.
In the season opener against Vacaville, Del Campo pitcher Jordan Jacobson exited the game after pitching only three innings and hasn’t pitched since. Despite losing their star pitcher heading to Sacramento State, the Cougars have gotten hot, winning 13 of their last 14.
That includes a series sweep over Capital Athletic League rival Rio Americano last week. Del Campo outscored the Raiders 31-10 during the three-game series.
Del Campo has four losses on the season. All of them were by one run.
“Our pitching staff is deep,” Del Campo coach Kevin Dawidczik said. “And we have been doing this without Jacobson. He threw the first game of the season and he hasn’t thrown yet.”
It helps to have depth that doubles as good pitching. Del Campo only lost six total innings from seniors that graduated last summer.
An anchor on this experienced Del Campo team is Matt Moses, who as a sophomore had a breakout season last spring. The now-junior leads his team in hits with 27. Other key contributors this season have been Austin Martinez, Hayden Hughes, Luke McCord and Thomas Martinez.
“His bat-to-ball skills are different,” Dawidczik said on Moses. “Last year he would (hit) the ball on the ground and beat it out because he knew he could. Now he’s driving the ball and hitting it out of the ballpark and his instincts are pretty special. He’s a commander in center field and statistically and competitively been our best pitcher on the mound. When he is in the outfield, it makes us a different team.”
Dawidczik coached a section championship-winning team in 2018. He says this group is one of the best he has had as a coach.
“This is one of the best groups I’ve ever had,” the coach said. “This senior class is pretty special and then you throw in Matt Moses. … We have played a really heavy schedule and he’s been the best player on the field in every game that we have played, in my opinion.”
Around the Horn
▪ After losing the series to Oak Ridge and struggling at a spring break tournament, Granite Bay responded with a sweep over Folsom. The Grizzlies are now 6-3 in Sierra Foothill League play and are tied with Oak Ridge and Whitney for the top spot. Preston Fondren, J.P. Smith and Brett Ott have carried the offensive load.
▪ Whitney continues to move up in the rankings and came in at No. 5 this week after a series win over rival Rocklin. In the rubber match, the Wildcats beat Rocklin 5-4 behind big performances from Jace Gillmore and Shane Saunders.
▪ River City moved up to No. 14 after a two-game sweep over Burbank. The Raiders outscored Burbank 36-0 in those games. Nicky Rodriguez, Freddy Rodriguez and Bryce Sabatke combined to pitch a no-hitter.
▪ After losing the first game of the series by one run to Center, Marysville answered with a commanding 10-0 win over the Cougars. Kayden Ellyson, Jaxon Finley and Maddox Marino all drove in multiple runs in the win.
▪ Since losing to Ponderosa on March 9, Alpha Charter has won 16 of 18. That includes a 40-0 win (not a typo) over Sacramento Country Day earlier this season. The Angels have scored 219 runs this season, while they have allowed 33.
▪ Wood picked up two big nonconference wins last week, first beating Sutter 5-3 and capping the week with a 3-1 win over Alpha Charter. Mason Sayre leads his team in hits with 24. Bryce Mendez-Dichoso and Jarren Ford have also been big contributors for the Wildcats.
▪ West Park won its first varsity baseball series in school history last week with a sweep over Rio Linda. The Panthers first varsity win came in March against Nevada Union. Logan Hearney leads his team in hits (29) and RBIs (13).
▪ Wheatland has been on a hot streak the past few weeks, going 5-1-1 in the teams last seven games. That includes a 9-9 tie against Alpha Charter and wins over Las Plumas and Rio Vista last week. Jacob Aust, Jacob Wilkins, Ashton Agricula and Brandon Doran all have 20 or more hits this season.
▪ Grant split a two-game series with Kennedy and beat the Cougars 8-6 in the series opener. Rob Cortez had two hits and drove in a pair of runs in the win. Sakima Singleton and Louie Chavez both recorded multiple hits.
▪ Ponderosa moved into second place in the Foothill Valley League with a series win over Lincoln. After dropping the series opener in extra innings, Ponderosa responded with 5-1 and 1-0 wins over the Zebras. In the rubber match, Jack Moore drove in the game’s only run and Benny Maxinoski pitched a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts.
The Bee’s Top 25
With records as of Sunday
1. Woodcreek 17-1
2. Franklin 19-5
3. McClatchy 17-2
4. Elk Grove 15-7
5. Whitney 18-4
6. Vanden 20-2
7. Vista del Lago 16-5
8. Del Campo 17-4
9. Jesuit 14-9
10. Oak Ridge 12-10
11. Granite Bay 9-11
12. Oakmont 14-6
13. Rocklin 12-10
14. River City 19-4
15. Del Oro 12-10
16. Vacaville 11-11
17. Rio Americano 12-11
18. Ponderosa 14-9
19. Folsom 9-13
20. Marysville 21-3
21. Placer 12-9
22. Alpha Charter 19-3
23. Roseville 14-9
24. Pioneer 13-5
25. Lincoln 14-7
Bubble teams: Bella Vista (12-10-1), Bradshaw Christian (15-4), Christian Brothers (8-11), Casa Roble (11-9), Colfax (15-8), Cordova (12-5-2), Davis (8-14), Kennedy (10-9), Sutter (19-4-1), Woodland (10-7)