Bee’s Top 20: Baseball in full swing with Placer County powers Oakmont, Whitney and Rocklin
Last spring marked a banner campaign for Sacramento-area baseball.
In the third year that the governing body California Interscholastic Federation capped the academic year with championship tournaments for Northern California and Southern California teams, the local clubs flexed their considerable muscle to high step into the summer months.
Oakmont of Roseville won NorCal Division III honors under Sacramento Bee Coach of the Year honoree Paul Martinez, whose team was dotted across The Bee’s All-Metro teams.
Bradshaw Christian of south Sacramento won its second NorCal crown in three seasons, taking Division IV honors to cap a 33-1 season with a 17-game winning streak. The good times rolled under 10-time Sac-Joaquin Section winning coach Drew Rickert and his now fourth-year varsity starting son, Ethan.
And in D-V, Woodland Christian of Yolo County won a NorCal banner with a 3-2 effort over Menlo School.
Those conquests are a reflection of how strong Sacramento baseball is at the highest divisions and right on down to the smallest-enrollment schools.
Oakmont starts this season preseason ranked No. 1 by The Bee, followed by Franklin of Elk Grove, Whitney of Rocklin, Rocklin and Granite Bay.
▪ Oakmont is a two-time defending section champion under Martinez, the only area coach to win section titles at three schools — San Juan, Del Campo and Oakmont. This could be Martinez’s final season as coach. The Vikings of Roseville are bolstered by experience and will again be tested with a rigorous nonleague schedule.
Oakmont opened the season with a 6-5 win over Whitney in nine innings then suffered a 6-2 setback to the Woodcreek Timberwolves, ranked sixth by The Bee. Oakmont is led by Sacramento State-committed Trevor Wilson, an infielder/pitcher who batted .377 last season, infielder/pitcher Ayden Dringenbert, outfielder/pitcher Cooper Kunis, catcher Beau Ogles, the school’s star quarterback, and a host of others.
▪ Franklin went 26-7 last season under longtime coach Bryan Kilby. The Wildcats graduated all-time program greats Nic Abraham (pitching at Tennessee) and Jordy Lopez, now playing infield at Cal, but return a host of stars.
They include: Cal commit infielder/pitcher Jason Harris, UC Santa Barbara commit Kyle Pott, Arizona-bound pitcher Dylan Wood and star hitter Dylan Minnattee, who has committed to LSU.
▪ Regional baseball teams do a nice job scheduling fierce early schedules, including Granite Bay taking on Woodcreek last week in a section semifinal rematch. Granite Bay, a three-time defending section champion, beat Woodcreek 4-1 behind hitters Liam Brown, Tim Ayers and Zach Uhler.
▪ Roseville as a town is a baseball hotbed with the oldest school in the district, the Roseville Tigers, starting the season ranked No. 9.
In a nonleague game last week, Roseville beat defending Sierra Foothill League champion Rocklin 2-1. John Vicente had the go-ahead base hit and Tyler Ritter pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing no runs and striking out five. Ritter is rounding into baseball shape after producing a strong season for a playoff basketball team.
▪ Rocklin is led by ace pitchers in Arkansas-committed left-hander Joey Lorenzini and the San Diego State-bound Daniel Panteloglow. Team MVP Cash Brennan, the team’s top hitter last season, is headed to Arizona.
▪ Granite Bay seeks a section four-peat under the only baseball coach the Placer County school has had since opening in 1996 in Pat Esposito. Though the Grizzlies took a hit when star pitchers Chase Bentley and Parker Jennings transferred to a prep school powerhouse in Florida, this is still one stout program.
▪ Whitney graduated Bee Player of the Year Jax Gimenez, now with the Oregon Ducks, but three anchors return in Cal Poly-bound pitchers Corden Pettey and Brady Estes. Noah Warner, who hit .373 last season, also returns.
▪ Jesuit and longtime coach Joey Potulny bowed out of the Delta League after decades of success and bound into the best league in the section in the Sierra Foothill League. College-bound players who play all over the field for the Marauders include Cal-bound pitcher Cade Colobara, UC Davis-bound Owen Page, LSU commit Sammy Kane and Loyola Marymount-committed Eric Erdmann.
▪ Elk Grove, one of the storied programs in the state over the last 40 years, has the pieces to make another section title run with hitters Chase Groves and Antonio Cuevas.
▪ Bradshaw Christian is small in enrollment but a big player in athletics, especially this sport. Stanford-bound ace and four-year varsity starter David Wiser went 12-1 last season with an 0.90 ERA.
Other returners for the Pride include versatile leaders in Ethan Rickert, Landon Carter, Alex Crosno and Max Wolf.
The Bee’s Top 20
(With last season’s record)
1. Oakmont (30-7)
2. Franklin (26-7)
3. Whitney (21-12)
4. Rocklin (24-11)
5. Granite Bay (24-10)
6. Woodcreek (21-11)
7. Jesuit (18-11-1)
8. Elk Grove (22-14)
9. Roseville (17-9-1)
10. Vacaville (20-8)
11. Bradshaw Christian (32-1)
12. Oak Ridge (16-16)
13. West Park (16-14)
14. Vista del Lago (23-6-1)
15. Lincoln (23-8-1)
16. Yuba City (16-12)
17. Bella Vista (15-10-1)
18. McClatchy (18-10)
19. Folsom (11-17)
20. Laguna Creek (21-6)
Bubble: Bear River (18-6), Casa Roble (24-10), Davis (12-16), Del Campo (14-15), Del Oro (12-17), Inderkum (17-11), Leroy Greene (23-5), Pioneer (22-7), Pleasant Grove (14-15), Rio Americano (20-9), Sutter (24-7-1), Twelve Bridges (18-11), Woodland Christian (26-4).