Rio Americano wins 1st CIF baseball title in 30 years with stellar pitching, defense
On the eve of the high school baseball playoffs, the Rio Americano Raiders honored their past.
Athletes from the program’s 1996 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship team attended a game, appreciated the gift of a blue banner, and were invited to stick around for more fun.
On Wednesday night at Sacramento City College’s Union Stadium, scores of alums soaked in the scene along with a festive gathering of family, students and fans as the top-seeded Raiders beat El Capitan of Merced, 3-0, to win the Division III championship, the program’s first since that famed group 30 years ago.
The 1996 club was coached by Rusty McLain. The Raiders play home games at Jerry Kaesar field, named after the founding coach of the San Juan Unified School District campus that opened in 1963. Kaesar’s best teams were in 1978, 1984 and 1987, and Rio had teams in 2022 and 2023 under coach Kenny Munguia that reached section title games, only to fall to Granite Bay of Placer County.
Under first-year coach Jason Landreth and a staff of former players, Rio Americano excelled again behind its trademark stout pitching and superb defense. Trey Howell-Chase, the team’s star shortstop and leading hitter, singled to left in the second inning to score Luke Rolli for a 2-0 lead. Rolli scored Austin Nye with a line drive to centerfield in the same inning for a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Howell-Chase scored on Everett Fillipo’s sacrifice fly to center. Howell-Chase got on with a triple. Joey Dormann earned the win in pitching five innings of one-hit ball. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior walked two and struck out two to improve his season record to 10-0.
Conor Flynn pitched two innings of relief, allowing one hit and no walks as the Raiders halted El Capitan’s 14-game winning streak while improving to 27-6. Both teams advance to CIF Northern California Regional playoffs.
Landreth leads the charge
Landreth played baseball at Christian Brothers High in Sacramento and later at American River College.
Life wasn’t always easy growing up in the city, he said, and coaching baseball allows him an opportunity to mentor young lives. On the back of his shirt and those of players during workouts and fans in the stands, there’s a Rio saying: “How are you feeling? I’m Feeling Dangerous.”
The Raiders play the part of dangerous, wielding big bats and playing fundamental, clean baseball.
“It’s been an incredible run,” Landreth said. “The guys keep throwing strike after strike. We only had 50 walks leading into the game, and it’s testament to all the hard work. We’ve got 13 seniors and a few juniors. They all bought in from Day 1.”
As for his role, the coach said, “I just love the game. I’ve been in this game 35 years now at college or pro level, and I’m at the high school level now. I love to compete. I love trying to lead young men, and having them be the best humans possible, and just team them life lessons using the game.”
Chase-Howell is nephew of ex-MLB pitcher
Howell-Chase is bating .491 and designated hitter George Landis is hitting .407. Center fielder Bryce Kurihara has a team-high 28 runs batted in, followed by Howell-Chase with 27 and Fillipo with 21.
Howell-Chase is a junior, a three-sport athlete who has a 3.87 GPA at a school big on academic standing. His uncle can speak of high school baseball success, as J.P. Howell still ranks as an all-time Sacramento-area great as a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who starred for the Jesuit Marauders.
Howell won The Sacramento Bee’s Player of the Year honors in 2001 when he went 10-0 on the mound with a remarkable 0.09 ERA, and he pitched in the Major Leagues from 2005 to 2017. Howell attended the title game at Union Stadium, and his nephew expected him to pick up the tab for a steak dinner.
Howell-Chase said the Raiders are a close-knit bunch in part because a lot of them grew up together and played Little League. And then Landreth molded them into a title team.
“He’s changed the program,” he said of Landreth. “We didn’t know what to expect this year.”
Howell-Chase said the Raiders marvel at the weight-lifting prowess of their thick-bodied coach, who looks like he could toss beer kegs over high fences or work as a bouncer in a biker bar in the bad part of town.
“He’s always looking out for us,” Chase-Howell said. “He truly loves each one of us.”
El Capitan entered as the No. 7 seed but punched well above that in the playoffs. Winners of the Central California Conference, the Gauchos (25-8) shut out eight of their previous nine teams and allowed two runs in two other games in that stretch. This was the second title game appearance for El Capitan, which opened in 2013. The Gauchos lost to Lincoln of Placer County in the 2016 section finals.
Aidan Witt and Angel Rivera had El Capitan’s two hits, and Zach Hunter was admirable in defeat as the pitcher allowed six hits, walking one and striking out six.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 9:23 PM.