Prep baseball rankings: Powerful moment in El Dorado Hills; new team in rankings

Bryce Bazor is fighting.

The Oak Ridge High School senior is battling a rare form of cancer. At heart, he’s a baseball player and was on the varsity team last season. Bazor was diagnosed with cancer last summer.

Immediately, his teammates rallied around him. Months after his diagnosis, the baseball players shaved their heads to honor Bazor. Bryce’s dad, Jim, is the junior varsity baseball coach at the school. He said a moment in Loomis two weeks ago choked him up.

The Del Oro junior varsity team warmed up with No. 2 shirts with the word “family” on the back. The team also presented his dad with a No. 2 Del Oro jersey.

“That’s kind of our saying,” Oak Ridge coach Todd Melton said. “They honored Bryce with ‘Bryce2strong’ on it. It choked up (junior varsity coaches) Jim and Wes for sure.”

Last week against Folsom, Oak Ridge played a game dedicated to Bryce in which he was honored before the game. The Trojans won the series against Folsom. It was a powerful moment, Melton said.

“Couple of those (seniors) are extremely close (with Bryce),” Melton said. “They have been lifelong friends with him. His dad, Jim, is our JV coach. … It hit hard. Anytime you hear about someone that age with cancer, it’s rough. No matter what age, but when someone is so young it’s a blow. Our kids stepped up. Bryce would want nothing more than to be out there with us and our guys want him out there too.”

Melton added, “Bryce is the best. If everyone practiced and played like Bryce did — it’s true. The kid practiced hard. He made himself into a very solid varsity player. He would’ve absolutely played this year for us. There’s no quit and he’s going to bring it. He never complained — he just loves baseball. You want to be around people like that. That’s who he is all about.”

The baseball team plans to do more fundraising to help Bazor. Melton said they’re planning a wiffleball tournament to raise money for Bazor. The coach said 16 teams have already signed up and the proceeds will go toward Bryce’s treatment and a charity for childhood cancer, Bryce’s wish

“It’s going to be a fun time,” Melton said. “That’s what we are trying to do right now, which is to celebrate every moment we get a chance.”

Around the horn

▪ In one of the top matchups last week, Elk Grove won the series against Jesuit to stay alive in the Delta League championship hunt. In the rubber match Saturday, the Herd beat Jesuit 5-4 behind big hits by Eddie Fines, Devon Kneisel and Ryan Zamora. Aiden Jimenez made his first pitching appearance of the season and closed the game out.

▪ Another battle of top 10 teams went down in Sacramento on Saturday between McClatchy and Del Campo. This game was scheduled for early April, but it was postponed due to the Sacramento City teacher strike. Trailing by one going into the final innings, the Cougars got clutch hits, including a walk-off RBI double by Hayden Hughes to give Del Campo a 6-5 win.

▪ Welcome to the rankings, Yuba City. For the first time this season the Honkers are in The Bee’s rankings. Yuba City won the series against Roseville after dropping the first game of a three-game series. After losing the first game 4-0, Yuba City responded with a 4-0 win of its own and ended the week with a 8-6 win in extra innings. Gabe Cheatle and Brent Gallegos both scored two runs and had two hits.

▪ Rocklin went into the final inning of a rubber match against Granite Bay trailing by seven runs before the Thunder offense came alive. Rocklin scored eight runs in the seventh inning to beat the Grizzlies 10-9 and clinch the series. The Thunder remain in fourth place in the Sierra Foothill League.

▪ Speaking of the SFL, the Whitney-Oak Ridge series in the final week of the regular season could decide the league crown. The Wildcats lead the Trojans by one game in the standings and would clinch their first SFL baseball championship in school history with a series win. Whitney is ranked fourth in this week’s rankings, the highest in school history.

▪ Pleasant Grove won its second Delta League series of the year with a series win over Cosumnes Oaks. The Eagles won the series opener 16-3 behind big performances by Griffin Brown and Ethan Massi. Pleasant Grove beat the Wolfpack in extra innings in the midweek game.

▪ Placer closed the gap in the Foothill Valley League title chase to two games after a sweep over Ponderosa. The Hillmen trail Oakmont, a team they were swept by, heading into the final week of the regular season. Sophomore Jon Handy has been Placer’s most-impactful player this season and leads the team in hits and RBIs.

▪ Laguna Creek is back on the bubble after taking two games from Metro League rival Kennedy. Kennedy sent it to extra innings after trailing by three in the seventh. The Cardinals scored four runs in the ninth to clinch the series win.

▪ Davis secured a big series win over Sheldon last week to move into fourth place in the Delta League. The Blue Devils previously had swept Cosumnes Oaks and Pleasant Grove. Grafton Shorts leads the team in hits with 21.

▪ The Bee’s top-ranked team, Woodcreek, shows no signs of slowing down. The Timberwolves have won 22 straight games after starting the season off with a loss against Rocklin. Last week, Woodcreek swept Inderkum, beat Bella Vista in a makeup game to clinch another league sweep and capped the week with a 4-1 win over Oakmont at Sutter Health Park. In that game against the Vikings, Conner Barth drove in two and Cody Cooper struck out seven.

The Bee’s Top 25

With records as of Sunday

1. Woodcreek 22-1

2. Franklin 19-5

3. Elk Grove 17-8

4. Whitney 21-4

5. Del Campo 21-4

6. McClatchy 21-3

7. Vanden 23-2

8. Vista del Lago

9. Jesuit 15-11

10. Oak Ridge 14-11

11. Rocklin 14-11

12. Granite Bay 11-13

13. Oakmont 17-8

14. River City 19-6

15. Placer 15-9

16. Del Oro 12-13

17. Rio Americano 15-11

18. Vacaville 12-13

19. Folsom 10-15

20. Marysville 23-3

21. Ponderosa 14-12

22. Alpha Charter 21-3

23. Lincoln 17-7

24. Pioneer 15-5

25. Yuba City 14-11

Bubble teams: Bella Vista (12-11-1), Bradshaw Christian (17-4), Casa Roble (14-9), Colfax (16-10), Cordova (17-5-2), Davis (10-14), Laguna Creek (9-12), Roseville (14-11), Sutter (20-5-1), Woodland (10-10)