Carlson Preps Herd to Defend Section Baseball Title

For the sixth time in his 15 seasons as head baseball coach at Elk Grove, Jeff Carlson is preparing his team to defend a Sac-Joaquin Section championship. Gone are sluggers like Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez, four-year starters now in the minor leagues. Also graduated are a pair of pitchers who are now key parts of their college teams, David Smith (CRC) and Mikey Wright (San Jose State).

Carlson's squad scrimmaged Saturday at Serra High School in San Mateo, the alma mater of Barry Bonds and Tom Brady. The Herd split a twinbill with the Padres, losing the first game 8-6 but bouncing back in game two, 4-3.

The leaders, much like last season, were shortstop Nick Madrigal and centerfielder Derek Hill. Madrigal had five stolen bases in the pair of games. Hill drove in four runs.

In this interview Carlson talked about a pitching staff with pretty much unproven varsity arms. Ty Madrigal and Chris Martin are the two with the most experience returning this spring. Some others, such as Skyler Quam and Austin Del Chairo, had strong innings.



After the scrimmage, I talked with Hill, likely a high draft choice in Major League Baseball's June draft.  He has already signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Oregon. We talked about that upcoming decision.

Happy 18th Birthday to my youngest son, Max