Sacramento’s oldest high school ushers in a new era with upgraded baseball field
For decades, dating back to the late 1930s, players didn’t hit home runs at McClatchy High School.
No, batters took off on a full-out sprint when deep shots bounced around the outfield, and sometimes they legged it out for an inside-the-park home run. These days, a home run is earned the old-fashioned way: a smash over the fence with a casual stroll around the bases and not some mad dash as if a swarm of bees were in pursuit.
There are new fences at the oldest school in the Sacramento City Unified School District, and there is newness everywhere on the baseball grounds off Freeport Boulevard. New dugouts, new batting cages with an all-weather ground surface, a new scoreboard, new lush green Bermuda grass and even the bonus of new restrooms, planted next to the flag pole behind the backstop.
Last Friday, McClatchy formally opened its new digs, the benefit of Measure H bond money that has boosted a number of Sacramento City Unified schools with athletic facelifts.
“Oh, man, isn’t this just great,” said longtime McClatchy baseball coach Mike de Necochea, who eagerly showed off the newness before the Lions hosted the Grant Pacers in a Metro League game. “Now I can’t retire. I have to stick around and enjoy this awhile.”
de Necochea grew up on these fields, his childhood home a relay throw away from the diamond. He is a 1985 McClatchy graduate who played for famed coach Bernie Church. The kindly old Church cut the ribbon over home plate for the ceremony and threw out the first pitch, and he said later, “I’m so happy for these kids and for Mike.”
Bonded money has led to athletic upgrades at Luther Burbank, Hiram Johnson, West Campus and others. Kennedy is in the process of a facilities upgrade.
“It’s great for all of our city schools, and it gives our students a sense of pride and community,” said Dave Parsh, the school district’s athletics coordinator.
Said McClatchy principal Andrea Egan, “The kids deserve this. They work so hard, like the coaches. They deserve to have the best fields.”
Added McClatchy athletic director Rob Feickert, “Isn’t it something? I’m more excited about the new bathrooms!”
McClatchy’s outfield fence borders that of the revamped softball field, a new era for both sports.
McClatchy baseball soaring and roaring
What adds to the excitement of all the upgrades is the Lions are still roaring and rolling with old-school values of pitching, defense and hitting.
Ranked No. 5 by The Sacramento Bee, McClatchy is 14-2 with nine shutouts, including a 10-0 effort to top the Pacers last Friday.
Coach de Necochea has a young team that has exceeded his expectations as the team seeks to join the legacy wall in left field. That’s where McClatchy’s finest baseball seasons are chronicled with banners, including league championships in the 1940s, and throughout the 1970s under Church, and in the 1990s under Brian Lo Forte, plus the nine league banners de Necochea has coached in this era.
The wall also includes the 1951 CalHi Sports Team of the Year notice, the 1998 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship team and the 2022 team that was the section runner-up.
Junior do-all star Victor Flores leads the Lions with a .500 batting average with junior Ari Silva hitting .477 with 23 RBI, and senior Finn Feris is batting .444 with 16 RBI. Junior Elias Ortega has 16 stolen bases, junior Antonio Barber 15 and Ferris eight. Barber has scored 23 runs.
Sophomore Camden Salisbury has an 0.63 ERA to lead the Lions pitching staff, followed by Silva at 0.66 and junior Matt Cuevas at 1.80. Silva is 5-1 on the mound, Salisbury is 3-0 and Cuevas is 2-0.
“We’re such a young team but we’re playing great baseball,” coach de Necochea said. “What an exciting time.”
Around the bases
▪ Landyn Plaut of Lincoln has tossed a no-hitter this season, then he fired a perfect game with eight strikeouts to beat Center 14-0. He had three home runs in three games and has a section-leading 13 dingers this season.
▪ Kyle Pott of top-ranked Franklin of Elk Grove tossed the third perfect game in program history, striking out 12 in the 10-0 Delta League game that was halted after five innings due to the mercy rule. He is 4-0 with a 1.11 ERA.
▪ Jaiden Oldwin of Vacaville struck out 10 in a 3-2 win over River City in Monticello Empire League play, which followed a no-hitter to beat Sacramento High.
▪ Caleb Peck of West Park of Roseville had four hits, including a triple and two doubles, and four RBIs in a 12-7 win over River City.
▪ In an 8-0 win over Center, Jackson Cook struck out 16 and allowed two hits in six innings.
▪ In an 11-0 win over River Valley, Yuba City ace Brandon Pelechowicz tossed a no-hitter with one walk and eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings. He also drove in two runs for the Honkers.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Wednesday)
1. Franklin (13-2)
2. Rocklin (13-3)
3. Davis (10-6-1)
4. Jesuit (11-5)
5. McClatchy (14-2)
6. West Park (13-4)
7. Oakmont (15-3)
8. Bradshaw Christian (14-0)
9. Woodcreek (13-7)
10. Elk Grove (9-6)
11. Del Oro (13-6)
12. Yuba City (14-2)
13. Vacaville (143-6)
14. Whitney (7-9)
15. Granite Bay (7-9)
16. Oak Ridge (6-10)
17. Vista del Lago (12-7)
18. Roseville (10-9)
19. Sutter (12-3)
20. Rio Americano (13-8)
Bubble: Christian Brothers (14-6), Lincoln (10-5), Pleasant Grove (9-6), Rio Linda (11-5), Woodcreek (14-7).
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 11:49 AM.