CIF baseball playoffs: Sacramento-area stars to watch for in section championships
The season started in the chill of February and ends in sectional play this week in warm conditions for Sacramento-area high school baseball teams.
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship games run Wednesday through Saturday at various sites.
The finalists in Divisions I, II and III advance to CIF Northern California State tournaments. (There are no state finals in this sport — yet.) Only the section champions in Divisions IV, V, VI and VII will advance to a NorCal round.
Division I
Who: No. 1-seeded St. Mary’s (26-6) vs. No. 3 Franklin (22-8-1)
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Sacramento City College
Outlook: The defending large-school section champion Wildcats of Elk Grove will play a St. Mary’s of Stockton club that has looked the part of a juggernaut. Franklin is paced by 2025 Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Dylan Minnattee, the fourth-year starter and LSU-bound do-all star who is batting .404 and has a team-best 0.78 ERA. Ryan Cody is 9-1 on the mound and has been superb.
St. Mary’s seeks its second title in three years and has a stout lineup that includes Hawaii-bound Ethan Silva and stellar pitching with Mississippi State-bound Dax Hardcastle (8-1, 0.64 ERA) and UCLA-committed Nico Bavaro (7-2, 1.58).
Division II
Who: No. 1 Elk Grove (26-6) vs. Rodriguez (24-7)
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Sacramento City College
Outlook: The storied Thundering Herd seek their 12th section banner and first for coach Joe Bellotti, who was an assistant for earlier title teams. Elk Grove has leadership in fourth-year starting infielder Chase Groves, headed to Cal, and there is power in the bats of Brayden Ford, Hudson Hall and Landon Johnson to go with the steady hitting of sophomore Jayden Hernandez (.427, 30 RBIs).
The Herd’s stout pitching staff includes Anthony Bascherini (7-2, 1.88 ERA), Cooper Gannon (6-1, 2.40), Chase Dyer (5-2, 3.00) and Tristen Bartlett (six saves). Rodriguez of Fairfield in Solano County is paced by Pacific-bound Nick Schikore and Cal Poly-committed Justin Gregory.
Division III
Who: No. 1 Rio Americano (26-6) vs. El Capitan (25-7)
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Sacramento City College
Outlook: The Gauchos of Merced are riding a 14-game winning streak and face a Rio Americano club that has been to multiple section title games in recent years, seeking a breakthrough. Rio’s 1-2 pitching punch of Joey Dormann and Pierce Tully and the infield defense and batting of Trey Howell-Chase have led to a banner season for coach Jason Landreth and staff.
Dormann is 9-0 with an 0.65 ERA, and Tully is 6-1 with a 1.62 ERA. They both pitched 5-inning perfect games earlier in this tournament.
Division IV
Who: No. 1 Roseville (26-4) vs. No. 2 Central Catholic (24-7)
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Cosumnes River College
Outlook: The defending champion Tigers of Placer County face a Central Catholic of Modesto club that features a potent lineup, and it’ll take some heavy bats to rattle Roseville’s aces. UC Davis-bound Tyler Ritter is 9-0 with a 0.65 ERA, and Vanderbilt-bound Ethan Gustus is 6-1 with a 1.52 ERA.
Roseville’s offense includes Benjamin Jordan (.427 average, 24 RBIs, 38 runs), Ashton Chang (.400), Jacob Welch (.400, 26 RBIs, 25 runs) and Justin Fischer (.341, nine doubles, 12 RBIs, 32 runs).
Division V
Who: No. 2 Woodland (26-5) vs. No. 5 Wheatland (23-8)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Cosumnes River College
Outlook: The storied Wolves of Yolo County are led by Cohen Dwyer (.531 average, 34 RBIs, 48 runs scored), Jesus Cosio (36 RBIs) and Riley Salvemini (32 RBIs, 43 runs scored). Salvemini is 8-2 with an 0.49 ERA.
Wheatland of Yuba County is led by Kale Nakamura (.418 average, 29 RBIs, 29 runs scored), Hughston Rodney (.412, 33 RBIs, 31 runs) and Brodee Malecha (.412 and an 0.31 ERA). Chase Barton is 10-2 for Wheatland.
Top-seeded Ripon Christian plays No. 2 Amador in the D-VI finals at 10 a.m. Saturday at Delta College in Stockton, followed by No. 1 Vacaville Christian and No. 2 Turlock Christian at 1 p.m.
Full brackets and ticket information are available at the section website, cifsjs.org/baseball.