Prep baseball: McClatchy ace helps Lions top Franklin in semifinal opener
The chant was a bit off key, but it was genuine in its intent.
“Here we go, Gabe!” is how it went for a brief moment Monday afternoon, a group of McClatchy High School baseball fans and parents cheering on the Lions’ ace, who is also the team’s leadoff hitter, joyous leader and general do-all senior Gabe Henderson.
The sing-song attempt happened in the seventh inning of an opening game of a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball semifinal against Franklin. Lions fans got their money’s worth, Henderson did more Hendo good things, and McClatchy left Elk Grove with a 2-0 victory over the Delta League champion Wildcats.
Henderson earned the complete-game victory on the mound, striking out six, allowing two hits and relying on stellar defense that helped him cruise to four 1-2-3 innings in a seven-inning contest. Henderson is 10-0 now, and the Lions are 27-3, suddenly a win away from reaching their first section final since winning it all in 1998 under coach Brian LoForte, who saw Monday’s outing as a fan and aid of sorts to the Franklin program, such as scouting opponents. LoForte also had a front-row view of his son Hank, who starred for four seasons with Franklin last decade.
What’s not to like about Henderson? He’s friendly and fun. He’s bright beyond his 3.6 grade-point average. He makes plays. His teammates and coaches are ready to elect him mayor. And he enjoys every bit of all of this good momentum, bearing a grin after a strikeout, or when his defense turns a double play, but none of it done with any hint of arrogance.
“Great kid. Really great kid,” is how McClatchy athletic director Rob Feickert described Henderson.
McClatchy baseball coach Mike de Necochea also raved about Henderson and the gritty Lions, who scratched out their only runs in the top of the fifth inning in slipping past Franklin’s tremendous 6-foot-3 left-handed ace Nolan Stevens, who suffered his first loss of the season after an 8-0 start. He is one of the state’s top pitching prospects.
McClatchy’s roster also includes one of the state’s elite players in Major League Baseball draft prospect Malcolm Moore, a powerhouse senior slugger and catcher with a regional-leading 13 home runs. But the Lions would not be here without Henderson, either. Henderson and Moore make for as formidable of a 1-2 punch as there is in the section, with Henderson batting .465 entering the week and Moore at .556. Moore doesn’t pitch but he calls all of the pitches behind the plate, a rarity at this level. He and Henderson work together as seamlessly as a hand into a mitt. To beat Stevens and the Wildcats, Henderson had to be nails.
“Gabe’s one of my favorite people,” said de Necochea, the proud alum and coach of the Lions. “All the pieces are there with him: Talent. Heart. He plays the game with a smile, and he’s a great leader and player. I’ll miss him so much when he’s done here, his energy and who he is.”
Henderson started playing the sport when he was 5 years old, when he was barely old enough to comprehend which way to run when he hit the ball. He was coached for years by his father, LaMar Henderson, a baseball and basketball star at Valley High School in the 1980s. Pop is a regular to all McClatchy games, the pride evident in his own broad grins.
“Dad’s always been there for me,” Henderson said. “I don’t know where I’d be without him and his support. He always pushed me to be my best, to be part of the way.”
Henderson also plays shortstop and outfield, and he will give his new coaches all sorts of position options when he competes next academic year at the Academy of Art University, a small-college program in San Francisco, where Henderson wants to study communications.
The smile will work in that field, as it does when he competes.
“You have to have fun to play this game,” Henderson said. “I have fun.”
Said Moore, his catcher, “It’s an honor to work with Gabe. Awesome player. We’ve been four-year varsity guys. We’ve been waiting for this (with no season in 2020 due to the pandemic and a reduced season last spring).”
Brandon Silva singled off Stevens to get things started in the McClatchy side of the fifth. Jaylen Hodges got on with a bunt single. A double-play allowed Silva to race to third base. Moore, he of the 50 RBI this season, was intentionally walked, and Silva scored a moment later on a wild pitch. Moore then stole third, and he charged home after the overthrow to third base, and it was 2-0.
That was enough offense to boost the Lions, who relied on Henderson to take them home.
“Great game,” Franklin coach Bryan Kilby said. “Henderson was awesome. He threw strikes, kept us off-balance. Nolan pitched great for us, too We’ll play them again on Wednesday (at McClatchy), and it should be another awesome game.”
Game 3, if needed, would be Thursday at Franklin.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 7:32 AM.