Franklin baseball sparkles in national showcase as top Sacramento-area high school team
The Franklin Wildcats have held their own on the Sacramento-area baseball circuit this early season, beating Sacramento Bee-ranked teams in Whitney of Rocklin (9-4), Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills (4-1) and Granite Bay (5-4), a nice sweep of stellar programs from the power-packed Sierra Foothill League.
Now The Bee’s top-ranked team is in Nevada to flex its considerable muscle in representing Sacramento and the Elk Grove Unified School District.
In the prestigious national event called the Bishop Gorman Invitational, Franklin opened the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Valor Christian of Colorado and an 11-4 effort over Calvary Day of Georgia.
Pitching carried the day in both wins for longtime coach Bryan Kilby. Against Valor Christian, Kyle Pott tossed a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in five innings. Against Calvary Day, Arizona-bound ace Dylan Wood struck out 10. Jason Harris, headed to Cal, had two triples, a double and two RBI, and Royal McKinney drove in three.
Oak Ridge gem
No. 2 Oak Ridge defeated Jesuit 2-0 to open Sierra Foothill League play in Jesuit’s debut game in the conference after decades in the Delta League.
Jackson Molloy pitched five stellar innings, allowing three hits, and the defense made spectacular plays, including left fielder Jasen Womack making a diving catch in the bottom of the seventh inning in the opener of a three-game series with the Marauders.
Longtime Oak Ridge coach Todd Melton called it one of the biggest league wins in his tenure. He has won more than 300 wins with the program.
Roseville Ritter heat
Tyler Ritter had a solid basketball season under his coaching father, Robert Ritter, and he’s off to a hot start in baseball for the No. 16 Tigers.
In beating Placer 3-0, Ritter tossed a one-hitter in six innings of work with nine strikeouts, and he benefited from a two-run double by Cyrus Young in the Foothill Valley League contest.
Ritter has pitched well against Rocklin and Yuba City.
Del Oro rally
Del Oro was down to its final out and trailing by five runs on Tuesday in Placer County, and then rallied to lead the No. 4 Golden Eagles past No. 5 Whitney 7-6.
The Golden Eagles of Loomis scored their seven runs in that inning with two outs in the SFL opener of a three-game series.
Carson Moore had three RBI, and Jayde Santiago and Jack Tews had one each as Del Oro moved to 8-1. Del Oro’s loss was a season opener to Woodcreek.
Around the bases
▪ No. 9 Woodcreek improved to 6-1 in the Capital Valley Conference after topping Christian Brothers 4-2 to open a three-game series with the No. 19 Falcons. Bryson Ruiz grinded through a complete-game effort, striking out four and walking none to move to 3-0 on the season.
▪ No. 18 Sutter moved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Golden Empire League after sweeping Woodland in three games.
▪ In a 2-0 win over the Wolves, Jonny Munger, Aiden Zwissig and Sam Cheatle combined on the shutout. Cheatle had two hits and two RBI.
▪ The leading batter in the Sac-Joaquin Section is Hunter Byrum of Foresthill in Placer County with a .769 average, according to statistics input by teams in MaxPreps.
▪ Alex Crosno of Bradshaw Christian is batting .750.
▪ JJ Allen of El Dorado of Placerville leads the section with 18 RBI.
▪ Brandon Pelechowicz of Yuba City has a section-leading four home runs in nine games.
▪ Steven Pinola of Mesa Verde has a section-leading 21 RBI in 10 games.
▪ Kevin Duplessis of Burbank has a section-leading 19 stolen bases.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Wednesday)
1. Franklin (6-0)
2. Oak Ridge (3-2)
3. Jesuit (4-1)
4. Del Oro (8-1)
5. Whitney (3-3)
6. West Park (6-2)
7. Oakmont (5-2)
8. McClatchy (7-0)
9. Woodcreek (8-4)
10. Rocklin (4-2)
11. Elk Grove (3-3)
12. Bradshaw Christian (6-0)
13. Granite Bay (2-4)
14. Yuba City (7-2)
15. Vacaville (6-4)
16. Roseville (4-6)
17. Vista del Lago (6-5)
18. Sutter (6-0)
19. Christian Brothers (7-4)
20. Laguna Creek (5-2)