The Bee’s Top 20: Roseville High starting pitcher throws a near-perfect game
.jpg "Tyler Ritter of the Roseville High School Tigers struck out 17 in a 4-0 win over Del Campo on Monday in Placer County.")
Tyler Ritter got off to a bit of a shaky start on Monday afternoon, and then he settled down and mowed them down.
A senior ace headed to UC Davis and a fine student who plays multiple sports for the Roseville Tigers, Ritter pitched a gem in beating Del Campo 4-0 in a Foothill Valley League contest in Placer County.
The first Del Campo batter reached base on an error, then Ritter walked a batter. He exhaled and proceeded to retire the final 21 batters, punctuated by 17 strikeouts. He walked just the one in spinning a no-hitter and moving to 4-0 on the mound, as the defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champion Tigers improved to 12-3 overall. The Tigers remain in first place in the league standings.
Ritter fired 85 pitches in the 7-inning masterpiece, 64 of them strikes. Freshman Brett Reager had two hits, senior Colfon Wolfe had a hit and an RBI, and Austin Chang added a hit and an RBI for Roseville.
Roseville continues to build sports momentum across the board, thanks in part to scores of multi-sport athletes at the 113-year-old Placer County school.
Chang had the game-winning hit in the section-title winning baseball game at Sacramento City College last spring, and his field goal in the final seconds at nearby Hughes Stadium over Thanksgiving weekend lifted the Tigers to their first CIF football championship since 1987. Chang also starred for Roseville’s section-championship winning water polo team last fall.
Ritter starred in basketball for his coaching father, Bobby, and he sparkles in baseball for coach Elijah Garcia.
Ritter has a lot of support, young and seasoned. Sophomore Cash Fisher is batting .440 with six doubles; sophomore Benjamin Jordan is batting .432 with seven doubles, 12 RBIs and 15 runs; and junior Preston Cubbler is hitting .368. Freshman Blake Connors has an 0.00 earned-run average in three relief appearances. Ritter has an 0.59 ERA, Dustin Holcomb a 1.65 ERA and Chang a 2.00 ERA.
St. Mary’s wins Boras
Longtime section powerhouse St. Mary’s of Stockton won the Boras Baseball Classic in Sacramento last week, a Northern California showcase of elite programs.
The Rams topped Bakersfield Christian 5-1, Saint Francis of Mountain View 1-0, West Park of Roseville 12-0 and, in the finals, Granite Bay 8-7 in extra innings to improve to 11-4 overall.
Early wins for St. Mary’s included Jesuit, 6-2, and Mater Dei of Orange County, 7-3. The lone loss in section play came by a 7-6 score to Elk Grove, the top-ranked team by The Sacramento Bee. Dax Hardcastle struck out 15 against Saint Francis, and Giani Camacho pitched a perfect game to beat West Park with 10 strikeouts.
Granite Bay kids can play
Longtime Granite Bay coach Pat Esposito has had his share of terrific teams, including CIF section championship squads, and he’s had star seniors and promising underclassmen lead the way. That includes this season.
Granite Bay stared the Boras Classic 3-0 after beating Los Gatos, St. Ignatius of San Francisco and Serra of San Mateo before falling in the finals to St. Mary’s.
The leading hitters this spring are sophomores Isaac Schroeder (.519, three home runs, 13 runs) and Derek Asnicar (.467) with Ryan Miller driving in 13 runs. The guy with the lowest ERA on the team is sophomore Connor Boese at 2.66.
Ranked 10th by The Bee, Granite Bay is in the power-packed Sierra Foothill League that includes Bee-ranked teams in Folsom, Jesuit, Whitney, Rocklin and Del Oro.
Folsom tops SFL
Ranked fourth by The Bee, the Folsom Bulldogs lead the SFL at 5-1 entering Tuesday under coach Sal Rivera, a run that includes beating Jesuit in a series for the first time in 12 years. Folsom lost this season to Jesuit 9-0 to open a three-game series and responded with back-to-back 3-2 victories over the Marauders.
Senior shortstop Gavin Tietz is batting 3.95 with 12 RBI, senior outfielder Manny Orange is batting .356 with 18 runs scored; sophomore infielder Angelo Orozco is hitting .353; freshman Kamren Avila has 14 runs; junior Michael Callahan has 13 RBIs and five doubles; and freshman catcher Blake Sargent has driven in 12.
On the mound, seniors have led the way. Alex Blount is 2-0 with an 0.46 ERA, Caden Heitmeyer is 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA, and David Engelken is 4-1.
The Bee’s Top 20
Records entering Tuesday
1. Elk Grove (12-4)
2. West Park (16-3)
3. Franklin (11-3-1)
4. Folsom (12-3)
5. Roseville (12-3)
6. Rio Americano (14-4)
7. McClatchy (16-4)
8. Vacaville (13-6)
9. Whitney (7-8)
10. Granite Bay (9-6)
11. Jesuit (8-8)
12. Rocklin (5-10-1)
13 Del Oro (6-7-1)
14 Woodcreek (11-7)
15 Bella Vista (12-6)
16. Vista del Lago (13-6)
17. Placer (13-4)
18. Bradshaw Christian (13-3)
19. Lincoln (14-2-1)
20. Woodcreek (11-7)
Bubble teams: Twelve Bridges (13-4); Laguna Creek (8-6); Woodland (10-4); Woodland Christian (16-1-1); Liberty Ranch (12-6).